What Retail Salespersons earn in Charleston County, SC
According to the latest federal wage data for the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metropolitan area, the median pay for Retail Salespersons in Charleston County, SC is $34,090 a year, or $16.39 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $29,014 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Charleston County, SC.
The mean wage is $35,750, which is 4.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 11,930 people working in this occupation across the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Charleston County, SC has roughly 420,264 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Retail Salespersons in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $23,590 a year ($11.34 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $47,750 or more ($22.96 an hour). That is a gap of $24,160 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $28,640 at the 25th percentile and $37,430 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $16.39 an hour or $34,090 a year at the median for Charleston County, SC. Before any deductions, that is $2,841 a month, $1,311 every two weeks and $656 each week. After taxes the same job pays $13.95 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Retail Salespersons
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Retail Salespersons this way: "Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs"; "Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices"; "Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment"; "Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts and know how to prevent or handle these situations".
Job outlook for Retail Salespersons
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 3,998,100 jobs in 2025 to 3,984,100 in 2035, a change of -0.3%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 520,600 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 13.0% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $35,410 for this occupation; the Charleston County, SC median of $34,090 is 3.7% below it.
How pay in Charleston County, SC compares
Compared with the South Carolina average
A worker in this occupation in Charleston County, SC earns $2,323 more than the South Carolina average of $31,767, a premium of 7.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,323 before tax and roughly $1,977 after tax. Within South Carolina, Charleston County, SC already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Retail Salespersons earn an employment-weighted average of $34,080 across the contiguous United States, so $34,090 in Charleston County, SC is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Charleston County, SC
Among the 458 occupations with published wages in Charleston County, SC, Retail Salespersons ranks number 438 by median pay, ahead of about 4% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Registered Nurses at $92,800 a year, which is $58,710 more than the median for Retail Salespersons.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Retail Salespersons earning the Charleston County, SC median of $34,090, they add up to $5,076. The result is $29,014 of take-home pay a year ($2,418 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 14.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $18,340. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $1,962, an effective 5.8% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,114 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $494. FICA totals $2,608, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in South Carolina
South Carolina income tax on this salary is $506 a year, or 1.5% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 26% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $42 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Charleston County, SC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Charleston County, SC show an average adjusted gross income of $128,480 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 17.9% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.8%, compared with the 5.8% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Charleston County, SC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Charleston County, SC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $29,014 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Charleston County, SC, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,731 a month ($20,772 a year), and at $1,884 for two bedrooms. For Retail Salespersons, a one-bedroom absorbs 71.6% of take-home pay and 60.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 10.1% of gross pay for Retail Salespersons in Charleston County, SC. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using South Carolina residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,504 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $667, for $2,171 in total. Gasoline in South Carolina averages $2.99 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,385.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,764 a year in Charleston County, SC. Subtract that from $29,014 of take-home pay and $1,250 remains, which is $104 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 3.7% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Local housing and commute data for Charleston County, SC
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Charleston County, SC: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Charleston County, SC, set beside the South Carolina and national medians.
Property taxes in Charleston County, SC
Homeowners in Charleston County, SC pay a median of $1,901 a year in real estate taxes, 52% above the South Carolina median of $1,251 and 39% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $489,100, the median tax bill is 0.39% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Retail Salespersons median of $34,090, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.6% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Charleston County, SC
Renters in Charleston County, SC pay a median gross rent of $1,620 a month in the Census survey, 37% above the South Carolina median of $1,180. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,731 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $489,100, 89% above the South Carolina median of $259,000. Median household income is $88,494, 28% above the South Carolina median of $69,324, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 23.5% of that income.
Commuting in Charleston County, SC
Workers in Charleston County, SC who travel to a workplace spend an average of 25.1 minutes each way, 2% below the South Carolina average of 25.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.2 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 17.7% of workers in Charleston County, SC work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Retail Salespersons afford to live in Charleston County, SC?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $34,090 that ceiling is $852 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,731 is $879 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $33.29 an hour; the median for Retail Salespersons is $16.39, which is 51% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $13.95 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 28.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,884 a month means $942 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $9,468 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $10,718.
How fast you can save
At $104 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 96 months (8.0 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 192 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Retail Salespersons pay in Charleston County, SC
How much do Retail Salespersons make per hour in Charleston County, SC?
The median is $16.39 per hour, based on $34,090 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $11.34 at the 10th percentile to $22.96 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Retail Salespersons take home after taxes in Charleston County, SC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $34,090 becomes $29,014 a year. That is $2,418 a month, $1,116 every two weeks or $558 a week.
How much tax do Retail Salespersons pay in Charleston County, SC?
Total taxes are $5,076 a year, an effective rate of 14.9%: $1,962 federal income tax, $2,608 FICA and $506 South Carolina income tax.
Do Retail Salespersons earn more in Charleston County, SC than elsewhere in South Carolina?
Yes. The local median of $34,090 is +7.3% versus the South Carolina average of $31,767, a difference of $2,323 a year.
Can Retail Salespersons afford a one-bedroom apartment in Charleston County, SC?
A one-bedroom costs $1,731 a month against take-home pay of $2,418, which is 71.6% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $852 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Retail Salespersons in Charleston County, SC?
About $104 a month ($1,250 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,764 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Charleston County, SC at the 30% guideline?
$33.29 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $20,772 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Retail Salespersons is $16.39.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Charleston-North Charleston, SC metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the South Carolina rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.