Commercial Pilots in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,213
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$22,197
23.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,475
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
$94,410
Kept after tax
$72,213
Worth in national money
$83,475
State rank
47
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays commercial pilots a middle wage of $94,410, 47 of 48 states and about 23.38% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Arkansas. It ranks 45 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $94,410 the take-home is $72,213; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $83,475 would nationally. The average comes to $95,380, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arkansas's $94,410 median for commercial pilots places it 47 of 48 states, about 23.38% 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.
- Within Arkansas, commercial pilots ranks 45 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for commercial pilots in Arkansas, on $94,410, is $72,213 — equivalent to $83,475 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $95,380 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Commercial Pilots
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $94,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $171,500 |
| This salary | $94,410 |
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 | $72,213 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,247 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,040 |
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 | $90,096 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,344 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of commercial pilots in Arkansas earn under $94,410 and half over. The published range runs $43,290 at the tenth percentile to $171,500 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $72,213 take-home in Arkansas comes from $94,410. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 45 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $83,475 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 45.
- Figures are distribution medians for commercial pilots in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,290 to $171,500; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $72,213, from $94,410, assumes a single Arkansas filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 45 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $83,475, worked from $94,410, 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 45 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $43,290 and the top tenth $171,500 — 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 $83,475 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Arkansas's own levy, $72,213 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($43,290) and the ninetieth ($171,500) 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 $83,475 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 $72,213 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.