Bartenders in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$21,791
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$3,299
13.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,189
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arkansas — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$25,090
Kept after tax
$21,791
Worth in national money
$25,189
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $25,090, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 26.94% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Arkansas, this one sits low: 487 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $25,090 you keep $21,791 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,189 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $32,850, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arkansas ranks 42 of 51 for bartenders, with a median of $25,090 — about 26.94% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Bartenders occupies position 487 of 489 in Arkansas's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Arkansas is $21,791 after the full tax stack, from $25,090. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,189 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $32,850 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $25,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,830 |
| This salary | $25,090 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arkansas | $21,791 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $22,272 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,270 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $24,506 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,679 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $25,090 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,880 and the ninetieth is $56,830 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $21,791, from $25,090, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 487 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $25,189, the adjusted value of that $25,090 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arkansas. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 487 of 489 locally.
- The Arkansas median of $25,090 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,880 to $56,830. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $21,791 from $25,090. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 487 of 489 locally.
- This $25,189 adjusted figure, worked from $25,090, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 487 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 487 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $32,850, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $22,880, the highest tenth $56,830, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Arkansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,189 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arkansas then takes its own share, leaving $21,791.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arkansas is $32,850. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,880) and the ninetieth ($56,830) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Arkansas's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $25,189 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $21,791 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arkansas income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.