Occupational Therapy Assistants in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,902
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$17,038
21.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,557
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
$78,940
Kept after tax
$61,902
Worth in national money
$71,557
State rank
5
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Arkansas's middle earner gets $78,940, putting the state 5 of 50 — about 9.18% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Arkansas this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 71 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $78,940 the take-home is $61,902; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $71,557 would nationally. The average lands at $76,900, below the middle of the range.
- For occupational therapy assistants, Arkansas sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $78,940, ranking 5 of 50 and running about 9.18% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Arkansas publishes a median for, occupational therapy assistants sits 71 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.
- Post-tax income for occupational therapy assistants in Arkansas, on $78,940, is $61,902 — equivalent to $71,557 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 $76,900 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapy Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,960 |
| This salary | $78,940 |
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 | $61,902 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,364 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,321 |
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 | $75,440 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,350 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $78,940 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $50,710 and the ninetieth is $98,960 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $61,902, worked from $78,940. 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 71 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,557 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 71.
- The Arkansas median of $78,940 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $50,710 to $98,960. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Arkansas take-home of $61,902, on $78,940 for work ranking 71 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 71 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,557, worked from $78,940, 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 71 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $50,710 and the top tenth $98,960, 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 $71,557 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 $61,902.
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 ($50,710 to $98,960) 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 $71,557 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 $61,902 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.