Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,354
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,426
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,748
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
$56,780
Kept after tax
$46,354
Worth in national money
$49,748
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $56,780. That is 38 of 46 states, and about 14.32% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 231.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $56,780 the take-home is $46,354; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $49,748 would nationally. The average comes to $61,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For probation officers and correctional treatment specialists, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $56,780, ranking 38 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 14.32%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, probation officers and correctional treatment specialists sits at 231 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for probation officers and correctional treatment specialists in South Carolina, on $56,780, is $46,354 — equivalent to $49,748 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $61,900 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,710 |
| This salary | $56,780 |
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 | $46,354 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,803 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$556 |
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 | $54,977 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$672 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of probation officers and correctional treatment specialists in South Carolina earn under $56,780 and half over. The published range runs $51,110 at the tenth percentile to $84,710 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,354 take-home in South Carolina comes from $56,780. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 231 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $49,748, the adjusted value of that $56,780 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 231 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for probation officers and correctional treatment specialists in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,110 to $84,710; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $46,354, from $56,780, assumes a single South Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 231 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $49,748 — the adjusted value of that $56,780 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 231 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 $61,900 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 $51,110 at the bottom tenth to $84,710 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $49,748 in national terms.
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 $46,354.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $61,900. 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 ($51,110 to $84,710) 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 $49,748 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 $46,354 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.