Pharmacists in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$99,687
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$36,373
26.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$115,235
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
$136,060
Kept after tax
$99,687
Worth in national money
$115,235
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for pharmacists. The middle earner takes $136,060, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 3.44% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Arkansas this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, pharmacists ranks 8 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $136,060 the take-home is $99,687; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $115,235 would nationally. The average lands at $135,780, below the middle of the range.
- Arkansas ranks 42 of 51 for pharmacists, with a median of $136,060 — about 3.44% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Arkansas publishes a median for, pharmacists sits 8 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 pharmacists in Arkansas, on $136,060, is $99,687 — equivalent to $115,235 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 $135,780 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $105,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $164,940 |
| This salary | $136,060 |
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 | $99,687 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,263 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$7,941 |
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 | $129,366 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$11,290 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $136,060 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $105,560 and the ninetieth is $164,940 — 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 $99,687, worked from $136,060. 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 8 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $115,235 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 8.
- The Arkansas median of $136,060 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $105,560 to $164,940. 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 $99,687, on $136,060 for work ranking 8 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 8 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $115,235, worked from $136,060, 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 8 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $105,560 and the top tenth $164,940, so most people doing this work in Arkansas sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $115,235 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 $99,687 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($105,560 to $164,940) 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 $115,235 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 $99,687 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.