Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,676
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,644
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,864
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the top tenth 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
$48,320
Kept after tax
$39,676
Worth in national money
$45,864
State rank
14
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Arkansas pays this job a middle wage of $48,320, ranking 14 of 45 states and sitting about 5.59% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 241 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,320 you keep $39,676, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,864 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $46,990, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Arkansas's median for extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders is $48,320, about 5.59% above the national figure and 14 of 45 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 241 of 489 in Arkansas places extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders 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.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders on $48,320 is $39,676. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,864 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 $46,990 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,320 |
| This salary | $48,320 |
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 | $39,676 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,005 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,667 |
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 | $46,666 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,434 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,320 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,220 and the ninetieth is $48,320 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $39,676, from $48,320, 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 241 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 $45,864 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 241.
- The Arkansas median of $48,320 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,220 to $48,320. 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 $39,676 from $48,320. 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 241 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,864, worked from $48,320, 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 241 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,220 and the top tenth $48,320, 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 $45,864.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arkansas adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,676 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,220 to $48,320) 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 $45,864 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 $39,676 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.