How much does a Software Engineer make in South Carolina?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $108,690 for Software Engineers 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 $80,380 and the 75th-percentile is $153,780.

How are South Carolina Software Engineer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for South Carolina different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. South Carolina's overall index of 93.5 reflects rents 80.5, services 85.8, and goods 95.9.

Is South Carolina a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Software Engineers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.5 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $108,690 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $116,275. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Software Engineers comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Software Engineer 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.

Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in South Carolina?

No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in South Carolina, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.

How does remote work affect software engineer pay in South Carolina?

Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. South Carolina-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.

South Carolina Software Engineer Salary: BLS $109K Median, Real $116K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Software Engineer pay in South Carolina is $108,690. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $116,275.
Nominal: #36/51 · Real: #38/51 — ranking shifts by 2 positions after RPP.
Low BEA RPP (93.5) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $7,585.
Bottom quartile $80,380, top quartile $153,780. The P90 ($179,670) is roughly 2.8× the P10 ($63,500).

Wage breakdown — South Carolina

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$63,500	$67,931
P25 (lower quartile)	$80,380	$85,989
P50 (median)	$108,690	$116,275
P75 (upper quartile)	$153,780	$164,511
P90 (top tier)	$179,670	$192,208
Mean	$119,610	$127,957
Employment	12,230 Software Engineers 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 (Software Engineer)	$108,690	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$15,159	13.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,175	0–6.2% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$8,315	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$80,041	73.6% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$85,627	÷ (93.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Carolina state-tax burden means for Software Engineer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.8% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $80,041 (73.6% of gross). After the 93.5 RPP, real take-home is $85,627.

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 $133,080 for Software Engineers with mean pay of $144,570 and total employment of 1,654,440. South Carolina sits at #36 on nominal pay and #38 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Carolina falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Software Engineer make in South Carolina?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $108,690 for Software Engineers 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 $80,380 and the 75th-percentile is $153,780.
How are South Carolina Software Engineer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for South Carolina different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. South Carolina's overall index of 93.5 reflects rents 80.5, services 85.8, and goods 95.9.
Is South Carolina a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Software Engineers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.5 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $108,690 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $116,275. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Software Engineers comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Software Engineer 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.
Does the BLS software engineer wage include FAANG total comp in South Carolina?: No — BLS OES captures W-2 base wages only. RSU vesting, sign-on bonuses, performance bonuses, and equity refreshes are not included. For senior tech-cluster roles in South Carolina, total comp can run 30-70% above the BLS-reported median once equity is added back. The Levels.fyi-style breakdowns on the parent occupation page show the gap.
How does remote work affect software engineer pay in South Carolina?: Remote-first companies typically anchor pay to one of three reference markets (Bay Area, NYC, or a national average) regardless of where the engineer lives. South Carolina-resident engineers working remotely for high-CoL companies can earn well above the in-state BLS median; the BEA RPP-adjusted real wage advantage is meaningful. Conversely, location-adjusted remote bands compress the spread.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-1252, 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 Software Engineer 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.