Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,371
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,619
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,961
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
$41,990
Kept after tax
$35,371
Worth in national money
$37,961
State rank
27
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 27 of 47 states for this job, with a middle wage of $41,990. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 369.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $41,990 you keep $35,371, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,961 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 27 of 47 for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing at $41,990. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing sits at 369 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 woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing on $41,990 is $35,371. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,961 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 $42,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,010 |
| This salary | $41,990 |
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 | $35,371 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,919 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$998 |
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 | $41,308 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,207 |
| 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 woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in South Carolina earn under $41,990 and half over. The published range runs $29,720 at the tenth percentile to $57,010 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $35,371, worked from $41,990. 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 369 of 492.
- Two cautions on $37,961, the adjusted value of that $41,990 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 369 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,720 to $57,010; 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.
- The South Carolina take-home of $35,371, on $41,990 for work ranking 369 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 369 of 492 in the state.
- This $37,961 adjusted figure, worked from $41,990, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 369 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 369 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,720 at the tenth percentile, $57,010 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 $37,961.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina's own levy, $35,371 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,720 to $57,010) 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 $37,961 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 $35,371 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.