Slaughterers and Meat Packers in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,612
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$6,188
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,543
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
$37,800
Kept after tax
$31,612
Worth in national money
$36,543
State rank
30
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas sits in the middle of the pack for slaughterers and meat packers. The median is $37,800, ranking 30 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Arkansas, this sits in the middle: 365 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $37,800 the take-home is $31,612; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,543 would nationally. The average lands at $37,660, below the middle of the range.
- Arkansas occupies the middle band for slaughterers and meat packers: a median of $37,800, ranking 30 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Slaughterers and meat packers ranks 365 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.
- Post-tax income for slaughterers and meat packers in Arkansas, on $37,800, is $31,612 — equivalent to $36,543 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 $37,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,700 |
| This salary | $37,800 |
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 | $31,612 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,552 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,044 |
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 | $36,630 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,681 |
| 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 $37,800. The published range is $33,870 up to $43,700, 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 $31,612, worked from $37,800. 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 365 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,543, the adjusted value of that $37,800 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 365 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for slaughterers and meat packers in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $33,870 to $43,700. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $31,612, on $37,800 for work ranking 365 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 365 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $36,543 — the adjusted value of that $37,800 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 365 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,870 at the bottom tenth to $43,700 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,543 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 $31,612 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,870 to $43,700) 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 $36,543 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 $31,612 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.