How much does a Lawyer make in Arkansas?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,970 for Lawyers in Arkansas as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $62,920 and the 75th-percentile is $134,370.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $100,184 — what the $86,970 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $72,480 to $154,786.

Where does Arkansas rank for Lawyer 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.

Is Arkansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $86,970 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $100,184. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Lawyers comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Lawyer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Arkansas?

BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Arkansas, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Arkansas) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Arkansas can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

Arkansas Lawyer Salary: BLS $87K Median, Real $100K (2026)

TL;DR

Median Lawyer salary in Arkansas: $86,970 nominal, $100,184 real (BEA RPP basis).
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $38,650 · P25 $62,920 · P75 $134,370 · P90 $209,390.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $13,214.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #50 of 51; nominal rank is #50.

Wage breakdown — Arkansas

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$38,650	$44,523
P25 (lower quartile)	$62,920	$72,480
P50 (median)	$86,970	$100,184
P75 (upper quartile)	$134,370	$154,786
P90 (top tier)	$209,390	$241,205
Mean	$134,860	$155,351
Employment	3,500 Lawyers 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 (Lawyer)	$86,970	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$10,380	11.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,892	0–3.9% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$6,653	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$67,044	77.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$77,231	÷ (86.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Arkansas state-tax burden means for Lawyer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $67,044 (77.1% of gross). After the 86.8 RPP, real take-home is $77,231.

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 $151,160 for Lawyers with mean pay of $182,760 and total employment of 747,750. Arkansas sits at #50 on nominal pay and #50 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. Nominal and real ranking are the same — cost of living and pay scale together.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Lawyer make in Arkansas?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $86,970 for Lawyers in Arkansas as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $62,920 and the 75th-percentile is $134,370.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Lawyer salary in Arkansas?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 86.8 for Arkansas), the real-wage equivalent is $100,184 — what the $86,970 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $72,480 to $154,786.
Where does Arkansas rank for Lawyer 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.
Is Arkansas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 86.8 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $86,970 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $100,184. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Lawyers comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Lawyer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Arkansas?: BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Arkansas, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Arkansas) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Arkansas can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-1011, 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 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Arkansas Lawyer 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.