Credit Counselors in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,177
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$7,883
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,975
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
$45,060
Kept after tax
$37,177
Worth in national money
$42,975
State rank
43
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays credit counselors a middle wage of $45,060, 43 of 46 states and about 13.73% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 289.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,060 you keep $37,177, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,975 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $49,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas's $45,060 median for credit counselors places it 43 of 46 states, about 13.73% 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.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, credit counselors sits at 289 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 credit counselors on $45,060 is $37,177. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,975 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 $49,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,770 |
| This salary | $45,060 |
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 | $37,177 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,386 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,474 |
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 | $43,556 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,201 |
| 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 credit counselors in Arkansas earn under $45,060 and half over. The published range runs $35,000 at the tenth percentile to $62,770 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,177 take-home in Arkansas comes from $45,060. 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 289 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,975, the adjusted value of that $45,060 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 289 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for credit counselors in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,000 to $62,770; 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 $37,177, from $45,060, 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 289 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $42,975 — the adjusted value of that $45,060 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 289 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 $49,330, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $35,000 at the bottom tenth to $62,770 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $42,975.
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 $37,177.
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 $49,330. 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 ($35,000 to $62,770) 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 $42,975 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 $37,177 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.