Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,688
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$5,602
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,319
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
$35,290
Kept after tax
$29,688
Worth in national money
$34,319
State rank
41
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays this job a middle wage of $35,290, 41 of 46 states and about 8.65% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Arkansas this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 418. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,290 the take-home is $29,688; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $34,319 would nationally. The average comes to $35,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arkansas's $35,290 median for switchboard operators, including answering service places it 41 of 46 states, about 8.65% 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.
- Against every occupation Arkansas reports, switchboard operators, including answering service ranks 418 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for switchboard operators, including answering service in Arkansas, on $35,290, is $29,688 — equivalent to $34,319 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 $35,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,870 |
| This salary | $35,290 |
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 | $29,688 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,536 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,895 |
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 | $34,236 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,502 |
| 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 switchboard operators, including answering service in Arkansas earn under $35,290 and half over. The published range runs $29,360 at the tenth percentile to $42,870 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 $29,688, worked from $35,290. 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 418 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,319 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 418.
- Figures are distribution medians for switchboard operators, including answering service in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,360 to $42,870; 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 $29,688, on $35,290 for work ranking 418 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 418 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,319, worked from $35,290, 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 418 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,360 and the top tenth $42,870, so most people doing this work in Arkansas sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,319 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 $29,688 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 46 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 ($29,360 to $42,870) 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 $34,319 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 $29,688 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.