Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,372
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$7,638
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,045
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
$44,010
Kept after tax
$36,372
Worth in national money
$42,045
State rank
47
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $44,010. That is 47 of 50 states, and about 17.49% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 303 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $44,010 the take-home is $36,372; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,045 would nationally. The average comes to $44,060, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $44,010, ranking 47 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 17.49%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 303 of 489 in Arkansas places paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators 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 paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Arkansas, on $44,010, is $36,372 — equivalent to $42,045 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 $44,060 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,650 |
| This salary | $44,010 |
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 | $36,372 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,542 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,412 |
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 | $42,554 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,126 |
| 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 $44,010. The published range is $35,890 up to $50,650, 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 $36,372, worked from $44,010. 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 303 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,045 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 303.
- Reported values are medians; for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,890 to $50,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $36,372, on $44,010 for work ranking 303 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 303 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,045, worked from $44,010, 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 303 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,890 at the tenth percentile, $50,650 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $42,045.
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 $36,372.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,890 to $50,650) 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 $42,045 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 $36,372 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.