Median pay · South Carolina
$56,610A year, or $27 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $39,170 | $19 |
| 25th percentile | $46,560 | $22 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $56,610 | $27 |
| 75th percentile | $62,990 | $30 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $75,530 | $36 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $56,460 | $27 |
Wage survey · BLS May 2025
How we got this
- Median wage in South CarolinaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of the people in this job were paid more than this, half less.$56,610
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$27.22
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,852 a month at an effective rate of 18.3%.$46,228 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in South Carolina sit at 93.7 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$60,385
- Against the national medianThe national median is $61,010.7.2% below
- Jobs countedA concentration of 1.14 against the nation's 1.00.6,920
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
What lands in the bank
Tax year 2026 · InteractiveEstimated on the median salary of $56,610 in South Carolina, for a single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026. Explore other wage levels and filing statuses below.
Run the numbers on your own pay
Same U.S. tax tables as the rest of the site. Change the salary, state, or filing status.
What $56,610 is worth in South Carolina
Prices in South Carolina sit at 93.7 against a national average of 100, so $56,610 earned here buys what $60,385 buys at national average prices.
- Rents. 80.5 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
- Against local households. The median household in South Carolina takes in $69,324, so this occupation's median is 0.82 times that, on one income.
- How common the job is here. 14% more concentrated in South Carolina than in the country as a whole.
Reading the numbers
What stands out for HVAC technicians in South Carolina
Rents in South Carolina index at 80.5 (U.S. = 100) while prices overall index at 93.7, a gap of -13.3 pts. For a renter, housing moves the local cost of living more than anything else.
The top of the pay range is stretched out. Going from the 75th to the 90th percentile adds $12,540, against $6,380 from the median to the 75th. The best-paid 10% of HVAC technicians in South Carolina make $75,530 or more.
Common questions
HVAC Technician pay in South Carolina, answered
How much does an HVAC technician make in South Carolina?
The median wage for HVAC technicians in South Carolina is $56,610 a year, or $27.22 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
What is the average HVAC technician salary in South Carolina?
BLS’s mean (average) wage for HVAC technicians in South Carolina is $56,460 a year. The median is $56,610.
The mean sits higher when a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up. For a typical paycheck, the median is the better middle.
What is the hourly pay for an HVAC technician in South Carolina?
The median hourly wage is $27.22. At a full-time year that lines up with about $56,610 a year.
BLS May 2025; hourly and annual figures come from the same survey.
What is the starting salary for an HVAC technician in South Carolina?
BLS does not publish starting pay. The closest figure it does publish is the low end of the range: in South Carolina, the lowest-paid 10% of HVAC technicians earn under $39,170 a year and a quarter earn under $46,560 ($18.83 and $22.39 an hour).
New hires often start somewhere in that band, but the May 2025 survey does not record experience, so read it as a floor to compare an offer against rather than a typical first salary.
What is the salary range for an HVAC technician in South Carolina?
The overall salary range for HVAC technicians in South Carolina spans from $39,170 for the bottom 10% to $75,530 for top earners.
The middle 50% earn between $46,560 and $62,990 a year, with the overall median at $56,610.
What is the take-home pay for an HVAC technician in South Carolina?
On the median wage of $56,610, a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction keeps an estimated $46,228 a year, or roughly $3,852 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 18.3%.
South Carolina takes $1,438 of it in state income tax.
How much does an HVAC technician make a month in South Carolina?
On the median annual salary of $56,610, estimated take-home pay is roughly $3,852 a month after federal, state, and FICA taxes.
For workers paid on a standard biweekly schedule (26 pay periods per year), each paycheck is approximately $1,778 net.
Do HVAC technicians earn more in South Carolina than in the rest of the country?
No. The median in South Carolina is 7.2% below the national median of $61,010.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in South Carolina sit at 93.7 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
Is $56,610 a good salary in South Carolina?
It is 0.82 times the median household income of $69,324. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in South Carolina run at 93.7 against a national average of 100, with rents at 80.5, so $56,610 here buys about what $60,385 buys at national average prices.
What do the highest-paid HVAC technicians earn in South Carolina?
The top tenth earn $75,530 a year or more. The 10th-percentile wage is $39,170.
Experience, specialty, employer and the part of South Carolina someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
How many HVAC technicians are there in South Carolina?
The survey counted 6,920 of these jobs in South Carolina for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 14% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.