Occupational Therapists in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$80,178
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$26,182
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$92,682
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
$106,360
Kept after tax
$80,178
Worth in national money
$92,682
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Arkansas pays occupational therapists a middle wage of $106,360, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 6.01% above the national middle.
- Within Arkansas this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, occupational therapists ranks 26 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $106,360 you keep $80,178 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $92,682 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $104,940.
- Arkansas's median for occupational therapists is $106,360, about 6.01% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Arkansas publishes a median for, occupational therapists sits 26 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Arkansas is $80,178 after the full tax stack, from $106,360. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $92,682 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $104,940 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $144,250 |
| This salary | $106,360 |
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 | $80,178 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,654 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,596 |
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 | $101,418 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,111 |
| 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 $106,360. The published range is $65,160 up to $144,250, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $80,178, from $106,360, 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 26 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 $92,682 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 26.
- Reported values are medians; for occupational therapists in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $65,160 to $144,250. 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 $80,178 from $106,360. 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 26 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $92,682, worked from $106,360, 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 26 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $65,160 at the bottom tenth to $144,250 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Arkansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $92,682 in national terms.
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 $80,178 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($65,160) and the ninetieth ($144,250) 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 $92,682 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 $80,178 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.