Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,513
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,987
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,674
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
$34,500
Kept after tax
$29,513
Worth in national money
$31,674
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $34,500, ranking 41 of 51 states — about 9.54% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in South Carolina, this one sits low: 443 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $34,500 you keep $29,513 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $31,674 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $36,190, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina ranks 41 of 51 for preschool teachers, except special education, with a median of $34,500 — about 9.54% 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.
- Preschool teachers, except special education occupies position 443 of 492 in South Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $29,513 after the full tax stack, from $34,500. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $31,674 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $36,190 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,900 |
| This salary | $34,500 |
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 | $29,513 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$904 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $34,017 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,093 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $34,500 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $26,820 and the ninetieth is $49,900 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $29,513, from $34,500, 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 443 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,674, the adjusted value of that $34,500 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 443 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $34,500 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $26,820 to $49,900. 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 $29,513 from $34,500. 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 443 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $31,674 — the adjusted value of that $34,500 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 443 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $36,190 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $26,820 at the bottom tenth to $49,900 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $31,674 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and South Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,513 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in South Carolina is $36,190. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,820 to $49,900) 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 $31,674 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 $29,513 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.