Sheet Metal Workers in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,760
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,060
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,649
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
$45,820
Kept after tax
$37,760
Worth in national money
$43,649
State rank
50
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays sheet metal workers a middle wage of $45,820, 50 of 50 states and about 25.86% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Sheet metal workers ranks 278 among 489 occupations Arkansas publishes pay for.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,820 you keep $37,760, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $43,649 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,800, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Arkansas's $45,820 median for sheet metal workers places it 50 of 50 states, about 25.86% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 278 of 489 in Arkansas places sheet metal workers 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.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for sheet metal workers on $45,820 is $37,760. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $43,649 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 $45,800 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Sheet Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,380 |
| This salary | $45,820 |
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 | $37,760 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,996 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,519 |
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 | $44,281 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,255 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,820 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,800 and the ninetieth is $57,380 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $37,760 take-home in Arkansas comes from $45,820. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 278 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,649 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 278.
- The Arkansas median of $45,820 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,800 to $57,380. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $37,760, from $45,820, assumes a single Arkansas filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 278 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,649, worked from $45,820, 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 278 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,800 at the tenth percentile, $57,380 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 $43,649.
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 $37,760 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,800 to $57,380) 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 $43,649 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 $37,760 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.