Security Guards in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,056
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,714
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,744
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
$35,770
Kept after tax
$30,056
Worth in national money
$34,744
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for security guards. The middle earner takes $35,770, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 5.92% 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: 406 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,770 the take-home is $30,056; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $34,744 would nationally. The average comes to $38,300, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arkansas ranks 42 of 51 for security guards, with a median of $35,770 — about 5.92% 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.
- Security guards occupies position 406 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.
- Post-tax income for security guards in Arkansas, on $35,770, is $30,056 — equivalent to $34,744 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 $38,300 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Security Guards
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,410 |
| This salary | $35,770 |
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 | $30,056 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,921 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,924 |
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 | $34,694 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,536 |
| 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 $35,770. The published range is $28,870 up to $57,410, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arkansas the take-home figure of $30,056, from $35,770, 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 406 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $34,744, the adjusted value of that $35,770 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arkansas. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 406 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for security guards in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,870 to $57,410. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arkansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,056 from $35,770. 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 406 of 489 locally.
- This $34,744 adjusted figure, worked from $35,770, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 406 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 406 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,300, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $28,870 and the top tenth $57,410 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $34,744 in national terms.
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, $30,056 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.
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 $38,300. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($28,870) and the ninetieth ($57,410) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $34,744 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 $30,056 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.