Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,750
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,230
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,702
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
$37,980
Kept after tax
$31,750
Worth in national money
$36,702
State rank
24
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arkansas is 24 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $37,980. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 361 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,980 you keep $31,750, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,702 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,360, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 24 of 50 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers at $37,980. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 361 of 489 in Arkansas places meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers 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 meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers on $37,980 is $31,750. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,702 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 $38,360 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,540 |
| This salary | $37,980 |
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 | $31,750 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,697 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,055 |
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 | $36,802 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,694 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arkansas earn less than $37,980. The published range is $33,470 up to $44,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $31,750, from $37,980, 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 361 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 $36,702 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 361.
- Reported values are medians; for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,470 to $44,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,750 from $37,980. 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 361 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,702, worked from $37,980, 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 361 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,470 at the bottom tenth to $44,540 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 $36,702 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 $31,750.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,470 to $44,540) 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 $36,702 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 $31,750 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.