Start with the answer
Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary pay in Arkansas and Maryland
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary is $23,140 per year in Arkansas. It is $58,330 per year in Maryland. Arkansas is 60.3% below Maryland on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-9044 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 2,600 wage and salary jobs in Arkansas and 5,030 in Maryland. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings