Social Workers, All Other in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,558
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$23,792
24.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,872
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
$96,350
Kept after tax
$72,558
Worth in national money
$77,872
State rank
10
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Carolina pays social workers, all other a middle wage of $96,350, ranking 10 of 50 states and sitting about 34.01% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, social workers, all other comes in at 61 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $96,350 you keep $72,558 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $77,872 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $92,120.
- South Carolina's median for social workers, all other is $96,350, about 34.01% above the national figure and 10 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Social workers, all other ranks 61 of 492 occupations by median in South Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $72,558 after the full tax stack, from $96,350. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $77,872 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $92,120 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Social Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,350 |
| Top tenth earn over | $118,580 |
| This salary | $96,350 |
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 | $72,558 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,612 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$968 |
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 | $90,588 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,337 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $96,350 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,860 and the ninetieth is $118,580 — 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 $72,558, worked from $96,350. 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 61 of 492.
- Two cautions on $77,872, the adjusted value of that $96,350 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 61 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $96,350 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,860 to $118,580. 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 $72,558, on $96,350 for work ranking 61 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 61 of 492 in the state.
- This $77,872 adjusted figure, worked from $96,350, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 61 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 61 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 $92,120, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $43,860, the highest tenth $118,580, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $77,872.
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 $72,558.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $92,120. 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 ($43,860) and the ninetieth ($118,580) 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 $77,872 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 $72,558 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.