What First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers earn in Lancaster County, SC
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $49,740: the median annual pay for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Lancaster County, SC. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $23.91 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $55,670, which is 11.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 10,120 people working in this occupation across the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Lancaster County, SC has roughly 104,475 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $35,410 a year ($17.02 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $79,190 or more ($38.07 an hour). That is a gap of $43,780 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $39,970 at the 25th percentile and $63,600 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 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: $23.91 an hour or $49,740 a year at the median for Lancaster County, SC. Before any deductions, that is $4,145 a month, $1,913 every two weeks and $957 each week. After taxes the same job pays $19.53 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers this way: "Directly supervise and coordinate activities of retail sales workers in an establishment or department. Duties may include management functions, such as purchasing, budgeting, accounting, and personnel work, in addition to supervisory duties."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints"; "Monitor sales activities to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods"; "Assign employees to specific duties"; "Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or in performing services for customers".
Job outlook for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 1,419,800 jobs in 2025 to 1,367,400 in 2035, a change of -3.7%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 113,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.0% of current employment each year. About 21.1% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: high school diploma or equivalent. Work experience in a related occupation: less than 5 years. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $48,520 for this occupation; the Lancaster County, SC median of $49,740 is 2.5% above it.
How pay in Lancaster County, SC compares
Compared with the South Carolina average
A worker in this occupation in Lancaster County, SC earns $1,801 more than the South Carolina average of $47,939, a premium of 3.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,801 before tax and roughly $1,471 after tax. Within South Carolina, Lancaster County, SC already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers is $49,042 across the contiguous United States. At $49,740, Lancaster County, SC pays $698 more, which is 1.4% above that benchmark. 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 Lancaster County, SC
Among the 583 occupations with published wages in Lancaster County, SC, First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers ranks number 361 by median pay, ahead of about 38% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $176,840 a year, which is $127,100 more than the median for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers.
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 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers earning the Lancaster County, SC median of $49,740, they add up to $9,122. The result is $40,618 of take-home pay a year ($3,385 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $33,990. 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 $3,840, an effective 7.7% 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 $3,084 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $721. FICA totals $3,805, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in South Carolina
South Carolina income tax on this salary is $1,477 a year, or 3.0% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 38% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $123 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 Lancaster County, SC
IRS Statistics of Income data for Lancaster County, SC show an average adjusted gross income of $87,619 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.9%, compared with the 7.7% 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 Lancaster County, SC
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Lancaster County, SC: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $40,618 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Lancaster County, SC, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $982 a month ($11,784 a year), and at $1,069 for two bedrooms. For First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 29.0% of take-home pay and 23.7% 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 6.9% of gross pay for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Lancaster 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 $18,776 a year in Lancaster County, SC. Subtract that from $40,618 of take-home pay and $21,843 remains, which is $1,820 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 43.9% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Lancaster County, SC
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County, SC, set beside the South Carolina and national medians.
Property taxes in Lancaster County, SC
Homeowners in Lancaster County, SC pay a median of $1,657 a year in real estate taxes, 32% above the South Carolina median of $1,251 and 47% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $329,900, the median tax bill is 0.50% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers median of $49,740, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Lancaster County, SC
Renters in Lancaster County, SC pay a median gross rent of $959 a month in the Census survey, 19% below 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 $982 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 $329,900, 27% above the South Carolina median of $259,000. Median household income is $78,869, 14% above the South Carolina median of $69,324, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 14.9% of that income.
Commuting in Lancaster County, SC
Workers in Lancaster County, SC who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.8 minutes each way, 13% above the South Carolina average of 25.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 19.5% of workers in Lancaster County, SC work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers afford to live in Lancaster 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 $49,740 that ceiling is $1,244 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $982 is $262 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $18.88 an hour; the median for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers is $23.91, which is 27% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $19.53 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 11.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,069 a month means $535 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,370 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $27,213.
How fast you can save
At $1,820 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers pay in Lancaster County, SC
How much do First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers make per hour in Lancaster County, SC?
The median is $23.91 per hour, based on $49,740 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.02 at the 10th percentile to $38.07 at the 90th percentile.
How much do First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers take home after taxes in Lancaster County, SC?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $49,740 becomes $40,618 a year. That is $3,385 a month, $1,562 every two weeks or $781 a week.
How much tax do First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers pay in Lancaster County, SC?
Total taxes are $9,122 a year, an effective rate of 18.3%: $3,840 federal income tax, $3,805 FICA and $1,477 South Carolina income tax.
Do First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers earn more in Lancaster County, SC than elsewhere in South Carolina?
Yes. The local median of $49,740 is +3.8% versus the South Carolina average of $47,939, a difference of $1,801 a year.
Can First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Lancaster County, SC?
A one-bedroom costs $982 a month against take-home pay of $3,385, which is 29.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,244 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Lancaster County, SC?
About $1,820 a month ($21,843 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $18,776 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Lancaster County, SC at the 30% guideline?
$18.88 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $11,784 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers is $23.91.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-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.