Project Management Specialists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,705
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$23,335
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,956
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
$95,040
Kept after tax
$71,705
Worth in national money
$76,956
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for project management specialists. The middle earner takes $95,040, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 7.11% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, project management specialists ranks 65 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $95,040 you keep $71,705, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $76,956 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $101,350, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 35 of 51 for project management specialists, with a median of $95,040 — about 7.11% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, project management specialists sits 65 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for project management specialists on $95,040 is $71,705. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $76,956 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $101,350 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Project Management Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $56,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $159,310 |
| This salary | $95,040 |
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 | $71,705 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,691 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$935 |
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 | $89,375 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,292 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Carolina earn less than $95,040. The published range is $56,710 up to $159,310, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $71,705, worked from $95,040. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 65 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 $76,956, the adjusted value of that $95,040 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 65 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for project management specialists in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $56,710 to $159,310. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Carolina take-home of $71,705, on $95,040 for work ranking 65 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 65 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $76,956 — the adjusted value of that $95,040 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 65 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 $101,350 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $56,710 and the top tenth $159,310 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $76,956.
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 $71,705.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $101,350. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($56,710) and the ninetieth ($159,310) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $76,956 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 $71,705 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.