Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,530
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$19,250
23.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,255
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
$83,780
Kept after tax
$64,530
Worth in national money
$69,255
State rank
39
of 49 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 $83,780. That is 39 of 49 states, and about 17.14% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 82 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $83,780 you keep $64,530 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $69,255 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $88,620, since top earners drag the number up.
- For social scientists and related workers, all other, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $83,780, ranking 39 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 17.14%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, social scientists and related workers, all other sits 82 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $64,530 after the full tax stack, from $83,780. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,255 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $88,620 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $115,210 |
| This salary | $83,780 |
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 | $64,530 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,769 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$484 |
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 | $79,175 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$669 |
| 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 $83,780. The published range is $63,130 up to $115,210, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $64,530 take-home in South Carolina comes from $83,780. 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 82 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 $69,255, the adjusted value of that $83,780 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 82 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for social scientists and related workers, all other in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,130 to $115,210. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $64,530, from $83,780, 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 82 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $69,255 — the adjusted value of that $83,780 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 82 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 $88,620, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $63,130 and the top tenth $115,210, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $69,255.
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 $64,530 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 49 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 $88,620. 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 ($63,130 to $115,210) 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 $69,255 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 $64,530 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.