Power Plant Operators in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,058
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$17,842
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,602
South Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in South Carolina — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$79,900
Kept after tax
$62,058
Worth in national money
$66,602
State rank
46
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for power plant operators. The middle earner takes $79,900, ranking 46 of 49 states — about 21.7% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, power plant operators comes in at 98 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $79,900 you keep $62,058 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $66,602 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $80,990, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina ranks 46 of 49 for power plant operators, with a median of $79,900 — about 21.7% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Power plant operators ranks 98 of 492 occupations by median in South Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $62,058 after the full tax stack, from $79,900. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,602 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $80,990 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,200 |
| This salary | $79,900 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in South Carolina | $62,058 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,040 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$329 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $75,661 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$454 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $79,900 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $58,880 and the ninetieth is $100,200 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $62,058, from $79,900, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 98 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $66,602, the adjusted value of that $79,900 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 98 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $79,900 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $58,880 to $100,200. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $62,058 from $79,900. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 98 of 492 locally.
- This $66,602 adjusted figure, worked from $79,900, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 98 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 98 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $58,880 at the bottom tenth to $100,200 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $66,602.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; South Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $62,058.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,880 to $100,200) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to South Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
South Carolina's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $66,602 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $62,058 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and South Carolina income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.