Healthcare

Physical Therapist Salary in South Carolina (2026)

The average Physical Therapist in South Carolina earns around $98,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $73,050/year ($6,088/month).

Take-Home Pay Breakdown

CategoryAmount
Annual Take-Home Pay
$73,050
Monthly Take-Home Pay
$6,088
Biweekly Take-Home Pay
$2,810
Hourly Take-Home Pay

based on 2,080 hrs/year

$35/hr
Federal Tax
$12,730
State Tax
$4,723
FICA Taxes
$7,497
Effective Tax Rate

total taxes ÷ gross salary

25.46%
Estimates only — not tax advice. · Full disclaimer →

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Physical Therapist Salary Ranges in South Carolina

Entry Level (0–3 yrs)

$78,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Mid Level (3–7 yrs)

$98,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Senior Level (7+ yrs)

$135,000

/year

See tax breakdown →

Not all Physical Therapists earn the same — not even close

South Carolina's physical therapist market is anchored by MUSC Charleston rehabilitation services (academic medical center rehab), Prisma Health rehabilitation (largest SC health system across 17 hospitals + extensive outpatient PT network), Roper St. Francis Healthcare Charleston rehabilitation, Bon Secours St. Francis Greenville rehab, Sports Medicine Associates Mt Pleasant (private sports PT), ATI Physical Therapy (large Midwest-HQ'd PT chain with substantial SC presence), plus MUSC DPT Charleston + USC DPT + Furman DPT academic training and substantial Myrtle Beach + Hilton Head outpatient PT for tourism/retirees.

Senior PT (Sports Medicine)

$92,000–$128,000

Sports Medicine Associates · MUSC Sports Medicine · Prisma Sports · post-op + return-to-sport

Senior PT (Orthopedic / Spine)

$88,000–$118,000

MUSC + Prisma + Roper ortho rehab · spine + joint replacement post-op specialty

Senior PT (Neurologic / SCI / TBI)

$88,000–$118,000

MUSC Neuro Rehab · Prisma Rehab · Roper · SCI + TBI + stroke + MS specialty

Senior PT (Pediatric)

$85,000–$115,000

Children's of MUSC · Prisma Children's · Shriners Greenville · pediatric developmental specialty

Senior PT (Cardiac / Pulmonary Rehab)

$85,000–$115,000

MUSC + Prisma + Roper · post-MI + heart failure + COPD rehab

Senior PT (Acute Care / ICU)

$88,000–$118,000

MUSC + Prisma + Roper acute care PT · early mobility + ICU PT specialty

Senior PT (Geriatric / Retirement)

$82,000–$112,000

Hilton Head + Myrtle Beach + Bluffton retiree outpatient · LHC Group SC · home health

Mid-Career PT (3-7 yrs)

$72,000–$95,000

Functional staff PT at SC health system · transitioning to senior band

New Grad DPT (0-2 yrs)

$62,000–$82,000

MUSC DPT + USC DPT + Furman DPT + North Greenville pipeline · entry band

PT Director / Clinic Manager

$108,000–$155,000

Clinic + outpatient PT operations leadership · ATI + private SC chains + health systems

Worth knowing: South Carolina's substantial retiree + tourism population in Hilton Head + Myrtle Beach + Bluffton + Charleston creates one of the largest US per-capita outpatient PT demand environments and a feature most national PT-career surveys understate for SC. Hilton Head Island (~40K population with ~3M annual visitors + substantial ~$1M-$5M+ home median retiree population) + Myrtle Beach metro (~500K residents + ~17M annual visitors + substantial retiree population) + Bluffton (~30K, fastest-growing SC town primarily retiree) create substantial outpatient PT + sports medicine + geriatric rehab demand supporting senior retiree-focused PT practice at $82-128K TC. MUSC DPT Charleston (founded 2003, one of three SC DPT-granting institutions alongside USC + Furman) operates substantial SC PT pipeline. ATI Physical Therapy (Illinois-HQ'd national PT chain, ~900 US clinics including substantial SC presence) operates large-scale outpatient PT clinics. The combined SC ortho + sports medicine cluster (Sports Medicine Associates + MUSC Sports Medicine + Prisma Sports Medicine) supports the country's substantial sports tourism + retiree-active-lifestyle demand. SC's 6.5% top bracket has limited impact on PT comp — most senior PT comp lands $85-125K range, mostly below the top bracket. SC has NO state estate tax + RTW + lower cost of living supports senior PT retention.

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