Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,056
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$16,614
21.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,578
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
$77,670
Kept after tax
$61,056
Worth in national money
$70,578
State rank
42
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $77,670, ranking 42 of 49 states — about 8.21% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Arkansas reports, this job comes in at 76 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,670 you keep $61,056 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $70,578 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $81,870, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arkansas ranks 42 of 49 for biological science teachers, postsecondary, with a median of $77,670 — about 8.21% 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.
- Biological science teachers, postsecondary ranks 76 of 489 occupations by median in Arkansas, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in Arkansas is $61,056 after the full tax stack, from $77,670. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $70,578 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $81,870 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,250 |
| This salary | $77,670 |
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 | $61,056 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,471 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,262 |
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 | $74,237 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,268 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $77,670 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,860 and the ninetieth is $129,250 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $61,056, worked from $77,670. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 76 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $70,578, the adjusted value of that $77,670 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 76 of 489 in the state.
- The Arkansas median of $77,670 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,860 to $129,250. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Arkansas take-home of $61,056, on $77,670 for work ranking 76 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 76 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $70,578 — the adjusted value of that $77,670 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 76 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 $81,870, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $34,860 at the bottom tenth to $129,250 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $70,578.
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 $61,056.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $81,870. 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 ($34,860) and the ninetieth ($129,250) 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 $70,578 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 $61,056 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.