Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,300
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,100
13.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,226
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
$30,400
Kept after tax
$26,300
Worth in national money
$28,226
State rank
40
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays substitute teachers, short-term a middle wage of $30,400, 40 of 50 states and about 27.05% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within South Carolina this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, substitute teachers, short-term ranks 469. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $30,400 the take-home is $26,300; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $28,226 would nationally. The average comes to $39,860, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina's $30,400 median for substitute teachers, short-term places it 40 of 50 states, about 27.05% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation South Carolina reports, substitute teachers, short-term ranks 469 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for substitute teachers, short-term in South Carolina, on $30,400, is $26,300 — equivalent to $28,226 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 $39,860 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,690 |
| This salary | $30,400 |
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 | $26,300 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,606 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$846 |
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 | $30,019 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,023 |
| 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 $30,400. The published range is $22,460 up to $78,690, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $26,300, from $30,400, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 469 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,226, the adjusted value of that $30,400 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 469 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for substitute teachers, short-term in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,460 to $78,690. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,300 from $30,400. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 469 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $28,226 — the adjusted value of that $30,400 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 469 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $39,860 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $22,460 at the bottom tenth to $78,690 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $28,226 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 $26,300.
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.
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 $39,860. 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 ($22,460) and the ninetieth ($78,690) 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 $28,226 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 $26,300 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.