Transportation Security Screeners in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,035
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,095
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,772
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
$63,130
Kept after tax
$51,035
Worth in national money
$54,772
State rank
32
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $63,130, ranking 32 of 45 states — about 5.45% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 174.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,130 you keep $51,035, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,772 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $60,590, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- South Carolina ranks 32 of 45 for transportation security screeners, with a median of $63,130 — about 5.45% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, transportation security screeners sits at 174 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for transportation security screeners on $63,130 is $51,035. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,772 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 $60,590 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Transportation Security Screeners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $69,240 |
| This salary | $63,130 |
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 | $51,035 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,905 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$329 |
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 | $60,803 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$398 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,130 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $42,100 and the ninetieth is $69,240 — 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 $51,035, worked from $63,130. 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 174 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,772 uses one figure for the whole of South Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 174.
- The South Carolina median of $63,130 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $42,100 to $69,240. 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 $51,035, on $63,130 for work ranking 174 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 174 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,772, worked from $63,130, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Carolina address, on work sitting at 174 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 $60,590, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $42,100 at the tenth percentile, $69,240 at the ninetieth.
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 $54,772.
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 $51,035.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $60,590. 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 ($42,100 to $69,240) 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 $54,772 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 $51,035 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.