Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,194
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,756
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,903
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
$35,950
Kept after tax
$30,194
Worth in national money
$34,903
State rank
47
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $35,950, ranking 47 of 47 states — about 31.58% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Arkansas, this one sits low: 403 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,950 you keep $30,194, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,903 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 47 of 47 for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers, with a median of $35,950 — about 31.58% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers occupies position 403 of 489 in Arkansas's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers on $35,950 is $30,194. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,903 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 $42,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,990 |
| This salary | $35,950 |
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 | $30,194 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,066 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,934 |
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 | $34,865 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,549 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,950 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $27,910 and the ninetieth is $65,990 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $30,194 take-home in Arkansas comes from $35,950. 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 403 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,903 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 403.
- The Arkansas median of $35,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $27,910 to $65,990. 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 $30,194, from $35,950, 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 403 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,903, worked from $35,950, 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 403 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $42,870, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $27,910 at the bottom tenth to $65,990 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $34,903.
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 $30,194.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $42,870. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($27,910) and the ninetieth ($65,990) 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 $34,903 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 $30,194 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.