Dental Assistants in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,468
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$7,362
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,999
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
$42,830
Kept after tax
$35,468
Worth in national money
$40,999
State rank
46
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for dental assistants is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $42,830. That is 46 of 50 states, and about 10.9% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Dental assistants ranks 312 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,830 you keep $35,468 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $40,999 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $42,130.
- For dental assistants, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $42,830, ranking 46 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 10.9%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 312 of 489 in Arkansas places dental assistants in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Arkansas is $35,468 after the full tax stack, from $42,830. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,999 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,130 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Dental Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,330 |
| This salary | $42,830 |
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 | $35,468 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,594 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,342 |
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 | $41,428 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,041 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $42,830 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,060 and the ninetieth is $48,330 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $35,468 take-home in Arkansas comes from $42,830. 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 312 of 489.
- Two cautions on $40,999, the adjusted value of that $42,830 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arkansas. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 312 of 489 locally.
- The Arkansas median of $42,830 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,060 to $48,330. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $35,468, from $42,830, 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 312 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 50 for it.
- This $40,999 adjusted figure, worked from $42,830, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 312 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 312 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,060 at the bottom tenth to $48,330 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 $40,999.
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 $35,468.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,060 to $48,330) 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 $40,999 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 $35,468 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.