Biological Scientists, All Other in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,209
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$16,191
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,600
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
$76,400
Kept after tax
$60,209
Worth in national money
$69,600
State rank
44
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays biological scientists, all other a middle wage of $76,400, 44 of 50 states and about 22.77% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Arkansas this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, biological scientists, all other ranks 81 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $76,400 you keep $60,209 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $69,600 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $78,760, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arkansas's $76,400 median for biological scientists, all other places it 44 of 50 states, about 22.77% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Ranked against every occupation Arkansas publishes a median for, biological scientists, all other sits 81 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Arkansas is $60,209 after the full tax stack, from $76,400. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,600 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $78,760 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $112,400 |
| This salary | $76,400 |
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 | $60,209 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,577 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,203 |
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 | $73,034 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,187 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arkansas earn less than $76,400. The published range is $41,910 up to $112,400, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $60,209, worked from $76,400. 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 81 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,600 uses one figure for the whole of Arkansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 81.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $41,910 to $112,400. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $60,209, on $76,400 for work ranking 81 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 81 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,600, worked from $76,400, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arkansas address, on work sitting at 81 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $78,760, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $41,910 and the top tenth $112,400 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $69,600 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arkansas adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,209 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 $78,760. 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 ($41,910) and the ninetieth ($112,400) 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 $69,600 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 $60,209 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.