Communications Teachers, Postsecondary in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,483
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$11,327
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,044
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
$59,810
Kept after tax
$48,483
Worth in national money
$56,044
State rank
47
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $59,810, ranking 47 of 48 states — about 23.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 152.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,810 the take-home is $48,483; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $56,044 would nationally. The average comes to $64,670, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arkansas ranks 47 of 48 for communications teachers, postsecondary, with a median of $59,810 — about 23.89% 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.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, communications teachers, postsecondary sits at 152 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.
- Post-tax income for communications teachers, postsecondary in Arkansas, on $59,810, is $48,483 — equivalent to $56,044 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 $64,670 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Communications Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,440 |
| This salary | $59,810 |
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 | $48,483 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,237 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,347 |
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 | $57,627 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,257 |
| 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 communications teachers, postsecondary in Arkansas earn under $59,810 and half over. The published range runs $47,450 at the tenth percentile to $78,440 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $48,483, from $59,810, 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 152 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 $56,044, the adjusted value of that $59,810 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 152 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for communications teachers, postsecondary in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,450 to $78,440; 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.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,483 from $59,810. 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 152 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $56,044 — the adjusted value of that $59,810 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 152 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 $64,670, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,450 and the top tenth $78,440, so most people doing this work in Arkansas sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $56,044.
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, $48,483 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.
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 $64,670. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,450 to $78,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arkansas rather than a national figure.
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 $56,044 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 $48,483 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.