Nursing Assistants in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,029
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,401
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,557
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
$34,430
Kept after tax
$29,029
Worth in national money
$33,557
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for nursing assistants is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $34,430. That is 48 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, nursing assistants lands at 429. 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 $34,430 you keep $29,029, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,557 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $33,970, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For nursing assistants, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $34,430, ranking 48 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 429 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 nursing assistants on $34,430 is $29,029. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,557 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 $33,970 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,020 |
| This salary | $34,430 |
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 | $29,029 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,845 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,845 |
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 | $33,415 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,440 |
| 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 $34,430. The published range is $28,840 up to $39,020, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $29,029, worked from $34,430. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 429 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,557, the adjusted value of that $34,430 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 429 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for nursing assistants in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,840 to $39,020. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $29,029, on $34,430 for work ranking 429 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 429 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $33,557 — the adjusted value of that $34,430 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 429 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,840 and the top tenth $39,020, 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 $33,557 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 $29,029.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,840 to $39,020) 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 $33,557 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 $29,029 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.