Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,019
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,311
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,012
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
$38,330
Kept after tax
$32,019
Worth in national money
$37,012
State rank
48
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arkansas. The middle earner gets $38,330. That is 48 of 49 states, and about 23.16% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 353.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,330 the take-home is $32,019; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $37,012 would nationally. The average comes to $40,430, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners, Arkansas sits in the lower band at $38,330, ranking 48 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 23.16%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners sits at 353 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Arkansas, on $38,330, is $32,019 — equivalent to $37,012 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 $40,430 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,350 |
| This salary | $38,330 |
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 | $32,019 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,978 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,075 |
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 | $37,136 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,719 |
| 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 $38,330. The published range is $33,880 up to $47,350, 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 $32,019, worked from $38,330. 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 353 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,012, the adjusted value of that $38,330 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 353 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,880 to $47,350. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $32,019, on $38,330 for work ranking 353 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 353 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $37,012 — the adjusted value of that $38,330 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 353 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 $40,430 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $33,880 at the tenth percentile, $47,350 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Arkansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,012 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $32,019 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 $40,430. 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 ($33,880 to $47,350) 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 $37,012 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 $32,019 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.