School Bus Monitors in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$22,995
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$3,245
12.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$24,679
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
$26,240
Kept after tax
$22,995
Worth in national money
$24,679
State rank
48
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for school bus monitors. The middle earner takes $26,240, ranking 48 of 50 states — about 25.24% 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: 487 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $26,240 you keep $22,995 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $24,679 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $26,730, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina ranks 48 of 50 for school bus monitors, with a median of $26,240 — about 25.24% 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.
- School bus monitors occupies position 487 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 $22,995 after the full tax stack, from $26,240. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $24,679 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $26,730 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: School Bus Monitors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,090 |
| This salary | $26,240 |
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 | $22,995 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,219 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$785 |
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 | $25,968 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$927 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $26,240 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $17,490 and the ninetieth is $36,090 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $22,995, worked from $26,240. 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 487 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 $24,679, the adjusted value of that $26,240 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 487 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $26,240 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $17,490 to $36,090. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Carolina take-home of $22,995, on $26,240 for work ranking 487 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 487 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $24,679 — the adjusted value of that $26,240 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 487 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $17,490 at the tenth percentile, $36,090 at the ninetieth.
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 $24,679 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 $22,995 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($17,490 to $36,090) 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 $24,679 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 $22,995 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.