Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,514
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,196
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,066
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
$59,710
Kept after tax
$48,514
Worth in national money
$52,066
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Carolina pays this job around $59,710 at the midpoint, 28 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 210.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,710 you keep $48,514, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,066 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $56,200, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For security and fire alarm systems installers the South Carolina median is $59,710, ranking 28 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, security and fire alarm systems installers sits at 210 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for security and fire alarm systems installers on $59,710 is $48,514. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,066 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 $56,200 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,540 |
| This salary | $59,710 |
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 | $48,514 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,157 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$451 |
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 | $57,665 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$546 |
| 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 security and fire alarm systems installers in South Carolina earn under $59,710 and half over. The published range runs $35,940 at the tenth percentile to $76,540 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $48,514, worked from $59,710. 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 210 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,066 uses one figure for the whole of South Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 210.
- Figures are distribution medians for security and fire alarm systems installers in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,940 to $76,540; 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.
- The South Carolina take-home of $48,514, on $59,710 for work ranking 210 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 210 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,066, worked from $59,710, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Carolina address, on work sitting at 210 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $56,200, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,940 at the tenth percentile, $76,540 at the ninetieth.
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 $52,066 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina's own levy, $48,514 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $56,200. 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 ($35,940 to $76,540) 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 $52,066 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 $48,514 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.