Dental Hygienists in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,114
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$19,646
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,581
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
$86,760
Kept after tax
$67,114
Worth in national money
$77,581
State rank
39
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for dental hygienists is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $86,760. That is 39 of 50 states, and about 11.56% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Arkansas reports, dental hygienists comes in at 52 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $86,760 the take-home is $67,114; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $77,581 would nationally. The average lands at $85,660, below the middle of the range.
- For dental hygienists, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $86,760, ranking 39 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 11.56%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Dental hygienists ranks 52 of 489 occupations by median in Arkansas, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for dental hygienists in Arkansas, on $86,760, is $67,114 — equivalent to $77,581 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 $85,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,730 |
| This salary | $86,760 |
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 | $67,114 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,866 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,685 |
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 | $82,849 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,852 |
| 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 dental hygienists in Arkansas earn under $86,760 and half over. The published range runs $62,170 at the tenth percentile to $97,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $67,114, worked from $86,760. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 52 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $77,581, the adjusted value of that $86,760 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 52 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental hygienists in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $62,170 to $97,730; 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.
- The Arkansas take-home of $67,114, on $86,760 for work ranking 52 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 52 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $77,581 — the adjusted value of that $86,760 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 52 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $62,170 and the top tenth $97,730, 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 $77,581.
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 $67,114.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($62,170 to $97,730) 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 $77,581 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 $67,114 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.