Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,911
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,669
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,576
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
$35,580
Kept after tax
$29,911
Worth in national money
$34,576
State rank
45
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $35,580, ranking 45 of 45 states — about 45.12% 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: 415 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $35,580 you keep $29,911, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,576 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,340, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 45 of 45 for special education teachers, preschool, with a median of $35,580 — about 45.12% 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.
- Special education teachers, preschool occupies position 415 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.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, preschool on $35,580 is $29,911. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,576 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 $38,340 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Preschool
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $27,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,990 |
| This salary | $35,580 |
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 | $29,911 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,769 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,913 |
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 | $34,512 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,522 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of special education teachers, preschool in Arkansas earn under $35,580 and half over. The published range runs $27,800 at the tenth percentile to $53,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $29,911, worked from $35,580. 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 415 of 489.
- Two cautions on $34,576, the adjusted value of that $35,580 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 415 of 489 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, preschool in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,800 to $53,990; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Arkansas take-home of $29,911, on $35,580 for work ranking 415 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 415 of 489 in the state.
- This $34,576 adjusted figure, worked from $35,580, 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 415 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 415 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 $38,340, 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 $27,800 and the top tenth $53,990 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $34,576 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arkansas then takes its own share, leaving $29,911.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $38,340. 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 ($27,800) and the ninetieth ($53,990) 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 $34,576 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 $29,911 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.