Registered Nurse Salary in South Carolina (2026)
The average Registered Nurse in South Carolina earns around $86,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $65,328/year ($5,444/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $65,328 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $5,444 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $2,513 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $31/hr |
Federal Tax | $10,090 |
State Tax | $4,003 |
FICA Taxes | $6,579 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 24.04% |
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Registered Nurse Salary Ranges in South Carolina
Not all Registered Nurses earn the same — not even close
South Carolina's nurse market is anchored by MUSC Charleston (~14K academic medical center employees with substantial Magnet nursing program), Prisma Health (~30K largest SC health system post-2017 merger, 17 hospitals + Magnet recognition at multiple facilities), Roper St. Francis Healthcare Charleston (~7K Catholic health system), Bon Secours St. Francis Greenville, AnMed Health Anderson, McLeod Health Florence (~8K), Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (~10K), Children's of MUSC pediatric, plus MUSC College of Nursing + USC College of Nursing + Clemson School of Nursing pipelines.
Senior CRNA (Anesthesia)
$205,000–$315,000
MUSC + Prisma + Roper CRNA · SC requires medical direction · highest non-MD pay
Senior Nurse Practitioner (Specialty)
$118,000–$185,000
Cardiology + oncology + transplant NP · MUSC + Prisma · SC NP requires collaborative agreement
Senior Nurse Anesthetist Manager
$185,000–$285,000
CRNA team lead at academic medical centers · senior CRNA leadership
Senior ICU / Critical Care RN
$92,000–$135,000
MUSC + Prisma + Roper ICU · Level 1 trauma + transplant ICU senior
Senior OR Circulating / Scrub RN
$88,000–$128,000
MUSC + Prisma OR · transplant + cardiothoracic + neuro OR specialty
Senior ED RN (Level 1 Trauma)
$92,000–$135,000
MUSC Level 1 adult trauma · Prisma Greenville Level 1 · trauma + stroke + STEMI center
Senior Medical-Surgical RN
$78,000–$108,000
Med-surg unit RN at SC Magnet hospital · senior staff band
Senior Pediatric / NICU RN
$85,000–$118,000
Children's of MUSC · Prisma Children's · MCG Children's · pediatric + neonatal specialty
Mid-Career RN (3-7 yrs)
$68,000–$90,000
Functional staff RN at SC Magnet hospital · transitioning to senior band
New Grad RN (0-2 yrs)
$58,000–$72,000
MUSC College of Nursing + USC + Clemson + Charleston Southern + Lander nursing pipeline
Worth knowing: MUSC College of Nursing is the only academic medical center-affiliated nursing school in SC and a feature most national nursing-career surveys understate for the state. MUSC College of Nursing (founded 1883, one of the oldest US nursing schools, ~1,200 students across BSN + MSN + DNP + PhD programs, MUSC's DNP program is among the top US DNP programs per US News) operates substantial nursing pipeline supporting MUSC Health + Charleston regional health systems. MUSC operates the largest single-state Magnet recognition program in SC supporting senior Magnet RNs at $78-135K. Prisma Health (~30K, largest SC health system post-2017 Greenville Health + Palmetto Health merger, 17 hospitals across Upstate + Midlands) anchors SC community nursing. SC is RTW since 1954 (one of the original RTW states) with ~2.5% union density (among the lowest US) — SC nursing unions are limited primarily to large academic medical centers, with most SC nurses outside collective bargaining. The Office of the State Nurses' Association exists but has limited collective bargaining presence compared to ONA/MNA/CNA in non-RTW states. SC does NOT have NP Full Practice Authority — SC nurse practitioners must maintain collaborative agreements with physicians (SC Code §40-33-34), substantially limiting independent NP practice vs FPA states. SC's 6.5% top bracket catches CRNA + senior NP comp at $200K+ TC but is substantially lower than OR/MN's 9.85-9.9% tops.
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More on South Carolina
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for South Carolina in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for South Carolina in 2026.
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