Technical Writers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,740
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$18,800
22.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,407
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
$82,540
Kept after tax
$63,740
Worth in national money
$68,407
State rank
27
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 27 of 45 states for technical writers, with a middle wage of $82,540. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, technical writers ranks 85 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $82,540 you keep $63,740, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $68,407 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $85,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 27 of 45 for technical writers at $82,540. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, technical writers sits 85 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for technical writers on $82,540 is $63,740. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $68,407 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 $85,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $82,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,930 |
| This salary | $82,540 |
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 | $63,740 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,897 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$435 |
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 | $78,052 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$600 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $82,540 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $57,360 and the ninetieth is $120,930 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $63,740 take-home in South Carolina comes from $82,540. 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 85 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 $68,407, the adjusted value of that $82,540 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 85 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $82,540 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $57,360 to $120,930. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $63,740, from $82,540, 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 85 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 45 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $68,407 — the adjusted value of that $82,540 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 85 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 $85,310, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $57,360 and the top tenth $120,930 — 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 $68,407 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 $63,740.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $85,310. 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 ($57,360) and the ninetieth ($120,930) 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 $68,407 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 $63,740 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.