Waiters and Waitresses in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$16,671
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$1,699
9.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$17,891
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
$18,370
Kept after tax
$16,671
Worth in national money
$17,891
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for waiters and waitresses is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $18,370. That is 49 of 51 states, and about 47.86% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, waiters and waitresses lands at 492. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $18,370 you keep $16,671, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $17,891 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $25,900, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For waiters and waitresses, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $18,370, ranking 49 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 47.86%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within South Carolina, this work ranks 492 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for waiters and waitresses on $18,370 is $16,671. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $17,891 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 $25,900 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $15,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $18,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,820 |
| This salary | $18,370 |
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 | $16,671 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $16,738 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$667 |
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 | $18,289 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$787 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of waiters and waitresses in South Carolina earn under $18,370 and half over. The published range runs $15,080 at the tenth percentile to $46,820 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $16,671, from $18,370, 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 492 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $17,891 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 492.
- Figures are distribution medians for waiters and waitresses in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $15,080 to $46,820; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $16,671 from $18,370. 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 492 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $17,891, worked from $18,370, 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 492 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 $25,900, 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 $15,080, the highest tenth $46,820, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $17,891 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 $16,671.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $25,900. 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 ($15,080) and the ninetieth ($46,820) 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 $17,891 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 $16,671 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.