Manufacturing pay in South Carolina after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median production worker in South Carolina earned $42,350 a year in May 2024, which is $20 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 47,370 production workers the BLS counts in South Carolina earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $36,970 and $50,070. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on South Carolina's tax, and South Carolina has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 6.2%.

What the median production worker keeps in South Carolina

For a single filer on the median $42,350, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

The state line is 4.3% of gross at this salary, approximated at 70% of the top bracket, which is where a middle income lands in most progressive states. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where South Carolina ranks for production worker pay

Of the 50 states, South Carolina ranks 27 of 50 on the gross median for production workers. The highest-paying state is North Dakota at $47,720 and the lowest is Arkansas at $36,630. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Across the border

The same job in the states next to South Carolina, gross median and estimated take-home for a single filer:

None of South Carolina's neighbours beats it on take-home for production workers. North Carolina and Georgia pay less once tax is counted. Pay is one line; rent is the other, and a higher median in a metro with higher rent can leave you with less.

Where the production worker jobs are in South Carolina

The BLS count of 47,370 production workers is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Charleston, Columbia, North Charleston and Greenville, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($50,070 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the South Carolina openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

What people get wrong about production worker pay in South Carolina

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for South Carolina is $22 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($20) is what the typical production worker makes.
• Comparing gross across states. A $42,350 offer in South Carolina is $34,174 in hand; the same number in a no-tax state is $36,012.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $40,350 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $45,350 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Charleston pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about South Carolina, on one page

The South Carolina page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in South Carolina this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of South Carolina employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Manufacturing. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.