What is the real (cost-adjusted) Data Scientist salary in Arkansas?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $120,170 — what the $104,320 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $94,885 to $144,442.

How are Arkansas Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Where does Arkansas rank for Data Scientist pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Arkansas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

How wide is the wage spread in Arkansas?

P10 to P90 spans $57,830 to $164,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Is Arkansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $104,320 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $120,170. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Arkansas?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Arkansas.

Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Arkansas — what's the gap?

BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Arkansas, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.

Arkansas Data Scientist Salary: BLS $104K Median, Real $120K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Data Scientist salary in Arkansas: $104,320 nominal, $120,170 real (BEA RPP basis).
Wage envelope: $57,830 (P10) to $164,120 (P90), with quartiles at $82,370 and $125,390.
Low BEA RPP (86.8) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $15,850.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #10 of 51; nominal rank is #27.

Wage breakdown — Arkansas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$57,830	$66,617
P25 (lower quartile)	$82,370	$94,885
P50 (median)	$104,320	$120,170
P75 (upper quartile)	$125,390	$144,442
P90 (top tier)	$164,120	$189,057
Mean	$104,560	$120,447
Employment	470 Data Scientists in Arkansas

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Arkansas index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	86.8
Goods	93.1
Services	81.9
Rents	56.7

Arkansas sits below the national baseline (RPP 86.8), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 56.7.

After-tax take-home — Arkansas (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Data Scientist)	$104,320	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$14,197	13.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,569	0–3.9% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,980	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$78,573	75.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$90,511	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Arkansas state-tax burden means for Data Scientist take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.4% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $78,573 (75.3% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $90,511.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $112,590 for Data Scientists with mean pay of $124,590 and total employment of 233,440. Arkansas sits at #27 on nominal pay and #10 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Arkansas climbs 17 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Data Scientist salary in Arkansas?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $120,170 — what the $104,320 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $94,885 to $144,442.
How are Arkansas Data Scientist salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Where does Arkansas rank for Data Scientist pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Arkansas ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
How wide is the wage spread in Arkansas?: P10 to P90 spans $57,830 to $164,120. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Is Arkansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Data Scientists?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $104,320 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $120,170. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Data Scientists comparing offers across regions.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Arkansas?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Arkansas.
Data scientist vs data analyst pay in Arkansas — what's the gap?: BLS reports them under different SOC codes (15-2051 for data scientists, 13-1161 for market/data analysts). In Arkansas, the data scientist median typically runs 30-60% above the data analyst median, reflecting heavier ML/statistics requirements, deeper SQL/Python depth expectations, and stronger industry placement in tech and finance.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 15-2051, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Arkansas Data Scientist pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.