Public Safety Telecommunicators in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,950
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,290
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,932
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
$38,240
Kept after tax
$31,950
Worth in national money
$36,932
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $38,240, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 27.9% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Arkansas, this sits in the middle: 357 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,240 you keep $31,950, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,932 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,270, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 50 of 51 for public safety telecommunicators, with a median of $38,240 — about 27.9% 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.
- Public safety telecommunicators ranks 357 of 489 occupations in Arkansas by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for public safety telecommunicators on $38,240 is $31,950. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,932 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 $39,270 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Public Safety Telecommunicators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,860 |
| This salary | $38,240 |
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 | $31,950 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,906 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,070 |
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 | $37,050 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,713 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of public safety telecommunicators in Arkansas earn under $38,240 and half over. The published range runs $31,010 at the tenth percentile to $47,860 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $31,950, from $38,240, 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 357 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 $36,932 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 357.
- Figures are distribution medians for public safety telecommunicators in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,010 to $47,860; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,950 from $38,240. 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 357 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,932, worked from $38,240, 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 357 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,010 at the tenth percentile, $47,860 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 $36,932.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Arkansas's own levy, $31,950 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,010 to $47,860) 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 $36,932 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 $31,950 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.