Social Workers, All Other in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,270
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,520
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,394
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
$47,790
Kept after tax
$39,270
Worth in national money
$45,394
State rank
50
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for social workers, all other. The middle earner takes $47,790, ranking 50 of 50 states — about 33.53% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 245.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $47,790 the take-home is $39,270; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,394 would nationally. The average comes to $67,400, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arkansas ranks 50 of 50 for social workers, all other, with a median of $47,790 — about 33.53% 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.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, social workers, all other sits at 245 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 social workers, all other in Arkansas, on $47,790, is $39,270 — equivalent to $45,394 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 $67,400 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $113,920 |
| This salary | $47,790 |
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 | $39,270 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,579 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,635 |
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 | $46,160 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,396 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,790 as a midpoint for Arkansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,230 and the ninetieth is $113,920 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $39,270, worked from $47,790. 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 245 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arkansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,394, the adjusted value of that $47,790 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 245 of 489 in the state.
- The Arkansas median of $47,790 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,230 to $113,920. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Arkansas take-home of $39,270, on $47,790 for work ranking 245 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 245 of 489 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arkansas, so $45,394 — the adjusted value of that $47,790 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 245 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 $67,400 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,230 at the bottom tenth to $113,920 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $45,394 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,270 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.
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 $67,400. 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 ($37,230) and the ninetieth ($113,920) 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 $45,394 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 $39,270 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.