Recreational Therapists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,530
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,350
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,498
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
$48,880
Kept after tax
$40,530
Worth in national money
$43,498
State rank
44
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for recreational therapists is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $48,880. That is 44 of 48 states, and about 21.11% 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 288.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $48,880 you keep $40,530 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,498 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $51,870, since top earners drag the number up.
- For recreational therapists, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $48,880, ranking 44 of 48 and trailing the national median by about 21.11%. 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, recreational therapists sits at 288 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $40,530 after the full tax stack, from $48,880. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,498 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $51,870 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Recreational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,670 |
| This salary | $48,880 |
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 | $40,530 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,455 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$837 |
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 | $47,729 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,013 |
| 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 recreational therapists in South Carolina earn under $48,880 and half over. The published range runs $38,290 at the tenth percentile to $74,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $40,530 take-home in South Carolina comes from $48,880. 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 288 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 $43,498, the adjusted value of that $48,880 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 288 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreational therapists in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,290 to $74,670; 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 $40,530, from $48,880, 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 288 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $43,498 — the adjusted value of that $48,880 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 288 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $51,870, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,290 at the bottom tenth to $74,670 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $43,498.
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 $40,530 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $51,870. 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 ($38,290) and the ninetieth ($74,670) 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 $43,498 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 $40,530 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.