Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,764
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,366
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,809
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
$47,130
Kept after tax
$38,764
Worth in national money
$44,809
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $47,130. That is 43 of 51 states, and about 6.38% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 256.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,130 the take-home is $38,764; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $44,809 would nationally. The average comes to $48,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $47,130, ranking 43 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.38%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance sits at 256 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 dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Arkansas, on $47,130, is $38,764 — equivalent to $44,809 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 $48,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,160 |
| This salary | $47,130 |
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 | $38,764 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,049 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,596 |
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 | $45,530 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,349 |
| 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 dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Arkansas earn under $47,130 and half over. The published range runs $30,020 at the tenth percentile to $65,160 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 $38,764, worked from $47,130. 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 256 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,809, the adjusted value of that $47,130 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 256 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,020 to $65,160; 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 $38,764, on $47,130 for work ranking 256 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 256 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $44,809 — the adjusted value of that $47,130 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 256 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,020 at the bottom tenth to $65,160 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Arkansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $44,809 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $38,764.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($30,020) and the ninetieth ($65,160) 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 $44,809 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 $38,764 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.