Emergency Medical Technicians in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,409
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,821
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,152
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
$36,230
Kept after tax
$30,409
Worth in national money
$35,152
State rank
46
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 $36,230. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 18.53% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 489 occupations Arkansas publishes, this job lands at 398. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,230 you keep $30,409, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,152 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For emergency medical technicians, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $36,230, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 18.53%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Arkansas, this work ranks 398 of 489 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for emergency medical technicians on $36,230 is $30,409. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,152 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 $38,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Emergency Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,910 |
| This salary | $36,230 |
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 | $30,409 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,291 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,951 |
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 | $35,132 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,569 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,230 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,370 and the ninetieth is $49,910 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $30,409, from $36,230, 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 398 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 $35,152 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 398.
- The Arkansas median of $36,230 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,370 to $49,910. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,409 from $36,230. 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 398 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,152, worked from $36,230, 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 398 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,230, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,370 at the bottom tenth to $49,910 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,152 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 $30,409.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $38,230. 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 ($28,370 to $49,910) 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 $35,152 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 $30,409 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.