Living Wage Calculation for Arkansas

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support themselves and/or their family, working full-time, or 2080 hours per year. The tables below provide living wage estimates for individuals and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In households with two working adults, all hourly values reflect what one working adult requires to earn to meet their families’ basic needs, assuming the other adult also earns the same.

The poverty wage and state minimum wage are for reference purposes. Poverty wage estimates come from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Poverty Guidelines for 2024 and have been converted from an annual value to an hourly wage for ease of comparison. The state minimum wage data is sourced from the Labor Law Center and includes the minimum wage in a given state as of January of that year.

For further detail, please reference the Methodology page. The data on this page was last updated on February 14, 2024.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Living Wage $19.10 $31.38 $38.47 $49.64 $26.60 $31.70 $36.09 $38.32 $13.12 $17.74 $21.73 $24.59
Poverty Wage $7.24 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $9.83 $12.41 $15.00 $17.59 $4.91 $6.21 $7.50 $8.79
Minimum Wage $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00 $11.00

Typical Expenses

The table below shows the costs of each basic need that go into estimating the living wage. Like with the living wage, their values vary by location and family size.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Food $3,867 $5,700 $8,549 $11,363 $7,089 $8,824 $11,364 $13,856 $7,089 $8,824 $11,364 $13,856
Child Care $0 $7,337 $13,969 $19,819 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $7,337 $13,969 $19,819
Medical $2,877 $8,201 $8,087 $8,558 $6,416 $8,087 $8,558 $8,146 $6,416 $8,087 $8,558 $8,146
Housing $9,146 $11,689 $11,689 $15,692 $9,576 $11,689 $11,689 $15,692 $9,576 $11,689 $11,689 $15,692
Transportation $10,455 $12,099 $15,241 $17,537 $12,099 $15,241 $17,537 $17,516 $12,099 $15,241 $17,537 $17,516
Civic $2,165 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191 $3,810 $4,795 $5,553 $5,191
Internet & Mobile $1,468 $1,468 $1,468 $1,468 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047 $2,047
Other $3,903 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841 $6,966 $7,407 $10,238 $9,841
Required annual income after taxes $33,880 $57,270 $71,206 $90,229 $48,003 $58,090 $66,987 $72,290 $48,003 $65,427 $80,956 $92,109
Annual taxes $5,845 $8,004 $8,818 $13,028 $7,331 $7,844 $8,085 $7,408 $6,573 $8,362 $9,438 $10,173
Required annual income before taxes $39,724 $65,274 $80,024 $103,256 $55,335 $65,934 $75,072 $79,698 $54,577 $73,789 $90,394 $102,282

Typical Annual Salaries

The average annual salaries for various occupations in the table below comes from the latest state-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. When available, this data is specific to a given metro area.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $93,480
Business & Financial Operations $70,190
Computer & Mathematical $78,540
Architecture & Engineering $75,730
Life, Physical, & Social Science $68,000
Community & Social Service $48,540
Legal $92,180
Education, Training, & Library $51,260
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $52,680
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $74,720
Healthcare Support $31,270
Protective Service $40,670
Food Preparation & Serving Related $27,870
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $29,790
Personal Care & Service $30,530
Sales & Related $41,090
Office & Administrative Support $39,140
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $37,280
Construction & Extraction $44,270
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $47,810
Production $40,290
Transportation & Material Moving $38,890