How much does a Marketing Manager make in South Carolina?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $124,000 for Marketing Managers in South Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $89,690 and the 75th-percentile is $172,780.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Marketing Manager salary in South Carolina?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.5 for South Carolina), the real-wage equivalent is $132,653 — what the $124,000 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $95,949 to $184,837.

How many Marketing Managers does South Carolina employ?

BLS OES counts 3,080 Marketing Managers employed in South Carolina in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does South Carolina rank for Marketing Manager pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, South Carolina ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

What are the limits of these Marketing Manager salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Does an MBA add to marketing manager pay in South Carolina?

MBA-credentialed marketing managers in South Carolina typically start 15-25% above non-MBA peers and reach VP-marketing 2-4 years sooner on the median path. The $80-200K MBA tuition + 2-year earnings gap takes 5-10 years to break even — better at top-15 programs with strong CPG/tech recruiting pipelines, weaker at regional MBAs. For demand-gen and growth-marketing tracks, demonstrated revenue impact and analytics chops often beat MBA pedigree on pay outcomes.

South Carolina Marketing Manager Salary: BLS $124K Median, Real $133K (2026)

TL;DR

South Carolina pays Marketing Managers a BLS median of $124,000 — the more useful number is $132,653, what that paycheck buys after rent and services.
P25-P75 spread runs $89,690 to $172,780; P10 floor $66,480, P90 ceiling $220,640.
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $8,653 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
Nominal: #35/51 · Real: #36/51 — ranking shifts by 1 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — South Carolina

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$66,480	$71,119
P25 (lower quartile)	$89,690	$95,949
P50 (median)	$124,000	$132,653
P75 (upper quartile)	$172,780	$184,837
P90 (top tier)	$220,640	$236,037
Mean	$137,140	$146,710
Employment	3,080 Marketing Managers in South Carolina

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	South Carolina index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	93.5
Goods	95.9
Services	85.8
Rents	80.5

South Carolina sits below the national baseline (RPP 93.5), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 80.5.

After-tax take-home — South Carolina (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Marketing Manager)	$124,000	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,578	15.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$6,124	0–6.2% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,486	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$89,812	72.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$96,079	÷ (93.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Carolina state-tax burden means for Marketing Manager take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $89,812 (72.4% of gross). After the 93.5 RPP, real take-home is $96,079.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $161,030 for Marketing Managers with mean pay of $171,520 and total employment of 384,980. South Carolina sits at #35 on nominal pay and #36 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Carolina falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Marketing Manager make in South Carolina?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $124,000 for Marketing Managers in South Carolina as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $89,690 and the 75th-percentile is $172,780.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Marketing Manager salary in South Carolina?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.5 for South Carolina), the real-wage equivalent is $132,653 — what the $124,000 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $95,949 to $184,837.
How many Marketing Managers does South Carolina employ?: BLS OES counts 3,080 Marketing Managers employed in South Carolina in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does South Carolina rank for Marketing Manager pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, South Carolina ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
What are the limits of these Marketing Manager salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Does an MBA add to marketing manager pay in South Carolina?: MBA-credentialed marketing managers in South Carolina typically start 15-25% above non-MBA peers and reach VP-marketing 2-4 years sooner on the median path. The $80-200K MBA tuition + 2-year earnings gap takes 5-10 years to break even — better at top-15 programs with strong CPG/tech recruiting pipelines, weaker at regional MBAs. For demand-gen and growth-marketing tracks, demonstrated revenue impact and analytics chops often beat MBA pedigree on pay outcomes.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 11-2021, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how South Carolina Marketing Manager pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.