What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Analyst salary in Arkansas?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $90,819 — what the $78,840 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $69,001 to $119,203.

How are Arkansas Financial Analyst 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.

How many Financial Analysts does Arkansas employ?

BLS OES counts 1,360 Financial Analysts employed in Arkansas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Where does Arkansas rank for Financial Analyst 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 $45,860 to $133,370. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.

Does BLS financial analyst pay in Arkansas include investment-banking bonuses?

BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income — which includes annual cash bonuses paid through payroll. So sell-side IB analyst-level bonuses, equity-research bonuses, and FP&A annual incentives all show up in the BLS figure. What's NOT included: deferred stock, unvested RSU grants, partnership distributions to senior associates and above, and post-tax-year 'true-up' bonuses paid through 1099. In Arkansas, this means BLS reasonably represents junior analyst total comp but increasingly understates senior comp once equity becomes a meaningful share — gap widens at the P90 band.

Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Arkansas?

BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Arkansas, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Arkansas earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Arkansas BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.

How Much Do Financial Analysts Make in Arkansas? $79K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

Median Financial Analyst salary in Arkansas: $78,840 nominal, $90,819 real (BEA RPP basis).
After the cost-of-living adjustment, take-home rises by $11,979 versus the BLS median — purchasing-power arbitrage.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $45,860 · P25 $59,900 · P75 $103,480 · P90 $133,370.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #35 of 51; nominal rank is #45.

Wage breakdown — Arkansas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$45,860	$52,828
P25 (lower quartile)	$59,900	$69,001
P50 (median)	$78,840	$90,819
P75 (upper quartile)	$103,480	$119,203
P90 (top tier)	$133,370	$153,634
Mean	$84,440	$97,270
Employment	1,360 Financial Analysts 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 (Financial Analyst)	$78,840	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$8,592	10.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,575	0–3.9% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,031	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$61,642	78.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$71,007	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Arkansas state-tax burden means for Financial Analyst take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $61,642 (78.2% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $71,007.

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 $101,350 for Financial Analysts with mean pay of $116,490 and total employment of 340,580. Arkansas sits at #45 on nominal pay and #35 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Arkansas climbs 10 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Financial Analyst salary in Arkansas?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $90,819 — what the $78,840 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $69,001 to $119,203.
How are Arkansas Financial Analyst 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.
How many Financial Analysts does Arkansas employ?: BLS OES counts 1,360 Financial Analysts employed in Arkansas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Where does Arkansas rank for Financial Analyst 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 $45,860 to $133,370. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
Does BLS financial analyst pay in Arkansas include investment-banking bonuses?: BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income — which includes annual cash bonuses paid through payroll. So sell-side IB analyst-level bonuses, equity-research bonuses, and FP&A annual incentives all show up in the BLS figure. What's NOT included: deferred stock, unvested RSU grants, partnership distributions to senior associates and above, and post-tax-year 'true-up' bonuses paid through 1099. In Arkansas, this means BLS reasonably represents junior analyst total comp but increasingly understates senior comp once equity becomes a meaningful share — gap widens at the P90 band.
Buy-side vs sell-side vs corporate finance analyst pay in Arkansas?: BLS aggregates SOC 13-2051 (Financial and Investment Analysts) without segmenting by sector. In Arkansas, buy-side roles at hedge funds, asset managers, and private equity firms typically lead on total comp at every level — bonus carry / performance fees can dwarf base. Sell-side investment banking analysts in Arkansas earn high cash comp but with steep hours; equity research mid-band; corporate finance / FP&A analysts earn the lowest among financial-analyst-track roles but with the most predictable hours. The Arkansas BLS median primarily reflects the corporate / FP&A end of the band; high-finance-cluster cities show much higher P90s as a result.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 13-2051, 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 Financial Analyst 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.