Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,426
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$7,654
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,107
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
$44,080
Kept after tax
$36,426
Worth in national money
$42,107
State rank
33
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $44,080. That is 33 of 45 states, and about 6.57% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 302 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $44,080 the take-home is $36,426; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,107 would nationally. The average lands at $43,950, below the middle of the range.
- For multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $44,080, ranking 33 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 6.57%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 302 of 489 in Arkansas places multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 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.
- Post-tax income for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Arkansas, on $44,080, is $36,426 — equivalent to $42,107 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 $43,950 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,960 |
| This salary | $44,080 |
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 | $36,426 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,598 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,416 |
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 | $42,621 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,131 |
| 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 multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Arkansas earn under $44,080 and half over. The published range runs $31,050 at the tenth percentile to $54,960 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $36,426 take-home in Arkansas comes from $44,080. 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 302 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,107, the adjusted value of that $44,080 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 302 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,050 to $54,960; 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.
- Retained pay of $36,426, from $44,080, 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 302 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 45 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $42,107 — the adjusted value of that $44,080 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 302 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,050 and the top tenth $54,960, so most people doing this work in Arkansas sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $42,107 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 $36,426.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 ($31,050 to $54,960) 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 $42,107 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 $36,426 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.