Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,566
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,174
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,489
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
$37,740
Kept after tax
$31,566
Worth in national money
$36,489
State rank
45
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $37,740, ranking 45 of 50 states — about 12.68% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Arkansas, this one sits low: 367 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,740 you keep $31,566, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,489 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $40,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 45 of 50 for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, with a median of $37,740 — about 12.68% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders occupies position 367 of 489 in Arkansas's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders on $37,740 is $31,566. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,489 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 $40,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,270 |
| This salary | $37,740 |
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 | $31,566 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,504 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,040 |
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 | $36,573 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,677 |
| 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 $37,740. The published range is $31,170 up to $49,270, 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 $31,566, worked from $37,740. 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 367 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,489, the adjusted value of that $37,740 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 367 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,170 to $49,270. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $31,566, on $37,740 for work ranking 367 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 367 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $36,489 — the adjusted value of that $37,740 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 367 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $40,230 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,170 at the bottom tenth to $49,270 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,489 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 $31,566 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arkansas is $40,230. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,170 to $49,270) 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 $36,489 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 $31,566 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.