Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,308
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$24,193
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,676
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
$97,500
Kept after tax
$73,308
Worth in national money
$78,676
State rank
29
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Carolina pays this job around $97,500 at the midpoint, 29 of 46 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 59 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $97,500 the take-home is $73,308; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $78,676 would nationally. The average lands at $96,910, below the middle of the range.
- For software quality assurance analysts and testers the South Carolina median is $97,500, ranking 29 of 46 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.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, software quality assurance analysts and testers sits 59 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.
- Post-tax income for software quality assurance analysts and testers in South Carolina, on $97,500, is $73,308 — equivalent to $78,676 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $96,910 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,390 |
| This salary | $97,500 |
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 | $73,308 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,421 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$996 |
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 | $91,652 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,376 |
| 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 $97,500. The published range is $50,070 up to $135,390, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $73,308, worked from $97,500. 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 59 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 $78,676, the adjusted value of that $97,500 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 59 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for software quality assurance analysts and testers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,070 to $135,390. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Carolina take-home of $73,308, on $97,500 for work ranking 59 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 59 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $78,676 — the adjusted value of that $97,500 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 59 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $50,070 and the top tenth $135,390 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $78,676 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $73,308.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($50,070) and the ninetieth ($135,390) 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 $78,676 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 $73,308 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.