Computer Programmers in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$83,830
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$28,010
25.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$96,904
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
$111,840
Kept after tax
$83,830
Worth in national money
$96,904
State rank
8
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for computer programmers is strong here. Arkansas's middle earner gets $111,840, putting the state 8 of 46 — about 11.41% ahead of the national figure.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Arkansas. It ranks 19 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $111,840 you keep $83,830, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $96,904 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $112,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For computer programmers, Arkansas sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $111,840, ranking 8 of 46 and running about 11.41% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Within Arkansas, computer programmers ranks 19 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.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for computer programmers on $111,840 is $83,830. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $96,904 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 $112,070 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $111,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $167,020 |
| This salary | $111,840 |
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 | $83,830 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $87,509 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,851 |
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 | $106,610 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,463 |
| 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 computer programmers in Arkansas earn under $111,840 and half over. The published range runs $63,520 at the tenth percentile to $167,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $83,830, from $111,840, 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 19 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $96,904 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 19.
- Figures are distribution medians for computer programmers in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,520 to $167,020; 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 $83,830 from $111,840. 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 19 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $96,904, worked from $111,840, 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 19 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $63,520, the highest tenth $167,020, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $96,904 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 $83,830 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 46 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 ($63,520) and the ninetieth ($167,020) 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 $96,904 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 $83,830 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.