Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,742
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,348
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,531
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
$64,090
Kept after tax
$51,742
Worth in national money
$55,531
State rank
41
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays zoologists and wildlife biologists a middle wage of $64,090, 41 of 47 states and about 16.53% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 167.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,090 the take-home is $51,742; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,531 would nationally. The average comes to $70,430, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina's $64,090 median for zoologists and wildlife biologists places it 41 of 47 states, about 16.53% 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.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, zoologists and wildlife biologists sits at 167 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.
- Post-tax income for zoologists and wildlife biologists in South Carolina, on $64,090, is $51,742 — equivalent to $55,531 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 $70,430 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $111,830 |
| This salary | $64,090 |
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 | $51,742 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,676 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$295 |
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 | $61,683 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$356 |
| 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 $64,090. The published range is $46,740 up to $111,830, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $51,742, worked from $64,090. 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 167 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 $55,531, the adjusted value of that $64,090 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 167 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for zoologists and wildlife biologists in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,740 to $111,830. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Carolina take-home of $51,742, on $64,090 for work ranking 167 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 167 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $55,531 — the adjusted value of that $64,090 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 167 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 $70,430, 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 $46,740, the highest tenth $111,830, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $55,531 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and South Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $51,742 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 $70,430. 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 ($46,740) and the ninetieth ($111,830) 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 $55,531 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 $51,742 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.