Lawyers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $120K, rent takes 17.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,263/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new lawyers typically earn — is $63K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,788/month. At HUD’s $1,263/month FMR, rent would take 33% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $120K here vs. $160K nationally. Cost of living is 7% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

South Carolina pays $120K median vs. the U.S. average of $160K — that’s -25%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.17), the purchasing-power equivalent is $129K — below the national median.

The median is $120,310 a year, that works out to about $58 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $63,140, and experienced lawyers can clear $301,140. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,243/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,263/month, which eats 17.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

South Carolina has a Regional Price Parity of 93.17 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median lawyers salary is worth about $129,130 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.