What is the real (cost-adjusted) Truck Driver salary in South Carolina?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.5 for South Carolina), the real-wage equivalent is $55,425 — what the $51,810 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,269 to $67,535.

How are South Carolina Truck Driver 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.

How many Truck Drivers does South Carolina employ?

BLS OES counts 32,700 Truck Drivers 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.

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.

Where does South Carolina rank for Truck Driver 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 Truck Driver 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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Carolina?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Carolina.

South Carolina Truck Driver Salary: BLS $52K Median, Real $55K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Truck Driver salary in South Carolina: $51,810 nominal, $55,425 real (BEA RPP basis).
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $3,615.
Bottom quartile $45,120, top quartile $63,130. The P90 ($75,360) is roughly 2.0× the P10 ($38,410).
Nominal: #42/51 · Real: #39/51 — ranking shifts by 3 positions after RPP.

Wage breakdown — South Carolina

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$38,410	$41,090
P25 (lower quartile)	$45,120	$48,269
P50 (median)	$51,810	$55,425
P75 (upper quartile)	$63,130	$67,535
P90 (top tier)	$75,360	$80,619
Mean	$55,110	$58,956
Employment	32,700 Truck Drivers 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 (Truck Driver)	$51,810	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$4,079	7.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,649	0–6.2% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,963	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$42,119	81.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$45,058	÷ (93.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the South Carolina state-tax burden means for Truck Driver take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $42,119 (81.3% of gross). After the 93.5 RPP, real take-home is $45,058.

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 $57,440 for Truck Drivers with mean pay of $58,400 and total employment of 2,070,480. South Carolina sits at #42 on nominal pay and #39 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, South Carolina climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Truck Driver salary in South Carolina?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 93.5 for South Carolina), the real-wage equivalent is $55,425 — what the $51,810 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $48,269 to $67,535.
How are South Carolina Truck Driver 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.
How many Truck Drivers does South Carolina employ?: BLS OES counts 32,700 Truck Drivers 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.
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.
Where does South Carolina rank for Truck Driver 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 Truck Driver 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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for South Carolina?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within South Carolina.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 53-3032, 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 Truck Driver 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.