Interpreters and Translators Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $52K, rent takes 28.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,021/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new interpreters and translators typically earn — is $32K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,930/month. At HUD’s $1,021/month FMR, rent would take 53% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 13% below the national median — $52K here vs. $60K nationally. Cost of living is 12% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Arkansas pays $52K median vs. the U.S. average of $60K — that’s -13%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 87.64), the purchasing-power equivalent is $60K — below the national median.

The median is $52,490 a year, that works out to about $25 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $32,170, and experienced interpreters and translators can clear $80,770. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,528/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,021/month, which eats 28.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Arkansas has a Regional Price Parity of 87.64 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median interpreters and translators salary is worth about $59,893 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.