Fastest Growing Jobs in Arkansas

National growth leaders filtered through Arkansas's actual employment footprint – BLS 2024–2034

Where Arkansas already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Arkansas employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 19,840 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 11,270 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 7,120 jobs · +14.8%
  4. 4. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 6,440 jobs · +23.2%
  5. 5. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 6,270 jobs · +16.1%
  6. 6. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 6,050 jobs · +15.8%
  7. 7. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 5,150 jobs · +12.5%
  8. 8. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 3,970 jobs · +40.1%
  9. 9. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 3,420 jobs · +15.2%
  10. 10. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 2,570 jobs · +16.8%
  11. 11. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,430 jobs · +15%
  12. 12. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 2,220 jobs · +16.7%
  13. 13. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,160 jobs · +13.8%
  14. 14. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 2,080 jobs · +17.3%
  15. 15. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 2,040 jobs · +12.1%
  16. 16. Psychiatric Technicians · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,900 jobs · +20%
  17. 17. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 1,620 jobs · +22%
  18. 18. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,460 jobs · +28.5%
  19. 19. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,400 jobs · +12.1%
  20. 20. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,390 jobs · +11.9%

Largest Arkansas footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

19,840 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

42/50

Arkansas employment published

National #1 growth

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

+49.9% · different from state footprint lead

Growth % and openings are national BLS projections. The employment and wage columns are Arkansas OEWS estimates where published.

In Arkansas, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) has no published OEWS employment row while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (19,840 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (11,270) and Financial Managers (7,120).

That mismatch is the useful Arkansas read: percentage growth ranks a national change rate, not how many workers the state already employs in the role. Of the 50 national growth rows, 42 publish Arkansas employment; 21 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 35% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (2 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer Arkansas seats than a mid-single-digit gain on a large OEWS count. Education and credential columns on the profile set the entry clock; several fast-growth rows need multi-year training before the projection window helps a new entrant.

Arkansas footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published Arkansas employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

# Occupation Growth %
1 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
3 Financial Managers +14.8%
4 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
5 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
6 Software Developers +15.8%
7 Medical Assistants +12.5%
8 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
9 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
10 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
11 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
12 Logisticians +16.7%
13 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
14 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
15 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
16 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
17 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
18 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
19 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
20 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
21 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
22 Physician Assistants +20.4%
23 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
24 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
25 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
26 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
27 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
28 Financial Examiners +18.5%
29 Data Scientists +33.5%
30 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
31 Therapists, All Other +11.5%
32 Massage Therapists +15.4%
33 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%
34 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
35 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
36 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
37 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
38 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
39 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
40 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
41 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
42 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
43 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%
44 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
45 Actuaries +21.8%
46 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
47 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
48 Epidemiologists +16.2%
49 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
50 Community Health Workers +11.3%

Nearby & Related Pages

Related growth and salary pages for Arkansas and the broader U.S. labor market.

Arkansas Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Arkansas

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Arkansas footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

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Compare Home Health and Personal Care Aides side-by-side with another occupation →

About This Data

Employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, covering 2024 to 2034. Growth rates represent the projected percentage change in national employment over the 10-year period.

State employment and salary data comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. Some occupations may not have state-level data for Arkansas if employment is too small to report.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034 and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State employment totals for Arkansas from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. State employment and wage rows use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and openings use national BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.