Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,952
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,728
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,183
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
$48,680
Kept after tax
$39,952
Worth in national money
$46,183
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $48,680. That is 38 of 46 states, and about 35.08% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 238.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,680 you keep $39,952, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,183 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $55,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For camera operators, television, video, and film, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $48,680, ranking 38 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 35.08%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, camera operators, television, video, and film sits at 238 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for camera operators, television, video, and film on $48,680 is $39,952. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,183 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $55,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $93,090 |
| This salary | $48,680 |
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 | $39,952 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,294 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,688 |
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 | $47,009 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,460 |
| 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 $48,680. The published range is $30,070 up to $93,090, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $39,952, from $48,680, 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 238 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,183, the adjusted value of that $48,680 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 238 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for camera operators, television, video, and film in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,070 to $93,090. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,952 from $48,680. 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 238 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $46,183 — the adjusted value of that $48,680 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 238 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 $55,740, 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 $30,070, the highest tenth $93,090, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Arkansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $46,183 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,952.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $55,740. 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 ($30,070) and the ninetieth ($93,090) 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 $46,183 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 $39,952 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.