Highest Paying Jobs in Arkansas

Top 100 occupations ranked by median annual salary, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

Highest Salary

$422,060

Dermatologists

Top 25 Average

$190,358

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Arkansas by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Dermatologists pays a state median of $422,060, +28% above the national median of $328,730 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 57 pay above $100,000 per year in Arkansas - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $263,673, giving a sense of what elite specialists inside this state actually clear.

The "Difference" column compares each state median to the corresponding national median for the same SOC code, making pay premiums and discounts immediately visible. In this list, 20 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Arkansas, which usually signals one of three things: a local concentration of specialized employers (finance hubs, tech clusters, research universities, federal agencies), a cost-of-living adjustment baked into state-wide wage scales, or scarce in-state talent supply bidding up competitive roles. Occupations paying below the national median are not necessarily bad news, they often reflect lower cost of living in the state or industries where Arkansas is not a concentrated employer.

Rankings like this show ceiling-potential by specialty, but they don't tell you the odds of landing one of those roles. Pair this table with the employment column (how many workers the state actually employs in each occupation) and the growth projections on each occupation's national page to see whether the field is expanding or contracting. BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime, especially distorting for top-paying roles where equity and performance compensation can represent 30-50% of total pay. Use this leaderboard to shortlist careers worth exploring in Arkansas, then drill into each row's linked profile to check percentile spread, typical education, metro-level variation, and whether projected openings match your timeline.

#	Occupation	State Median	National	Difference	Employment
1	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$422,060	$328,730	+28% above	40
2	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$317,880	$248,560	+28% above	70
3	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$262,470	$358,550	27% below	350
4	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$259,320	$300,080	14% below	30
5	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$254,940	$414,010	38% below	280
6	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$233,130	$256,560	9% below	290
7	Dentists, All Other Specialists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$232,730	$224,990	+3% above	40
8	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$224,280	$236,590	5% below	N/A
9	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$215,820	$244,180	12% below	290
10	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$214,100	$312,400	31% below	130
11	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$178,930	$170,950	+5% above	1,210
12	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$168,970	$232,140	27% below	250
13	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$160,440	$210,040	24% below	100
14	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$156,450	$148,080	+6% above	930
15	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$140,600	$171,270	18% below	1,220
16	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$138,260	$147,470	6% below	30
17	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$136,880	$265,930	49% below	4,290
18	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$136,520	$166,790	18% below	1,860
19	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$136,060	$140,910	3% below	2,900
20	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$135,820	$172,250	21% below	60
21	Sales Engineers Sales and Related Occupations	$130,760	$124,900	+5% above	30
22	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$127,220	$175,140	27% below	3,420
23	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$125,660	$132,300	5% below	3,970
24	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$124,890	$107,310	+16% above	2,080
25	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$124,750	$281,870	56% below	150
26	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$124,470	$136,570	9% below	320
27	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$120,290	$161,740	26% below	160
28	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$119,990	$213,990	44% below	3,550
29	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$119,430	$167,220	29% below	340
30	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$118,430	$135,880	13% below	850
31	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$118,120	$126,060	6% below	2,560
32	Power Distributors and Dispatchers Production Occupations	$117,370	$106,730	+10% above	210
33	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$116,570	$166,570	30% below	7,120
34	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$114,340	$110,840	+3% above	120
35	Computer Programmers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$111,840	$100,390	+11% above	1,050
36	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$110,400	$134,050	18% below	910
37	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$109,830	$130,220	16% below	150
38	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$109,760	$148,080	26% below	80
39	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$109,390	$120,230	9% below	530
40	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$108,580	$149,280	27% below	1,290
41	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$108,330	$148,270	27% below	3,710
42	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$107,710	$130,100	17% below	540
43	Occupational Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$106,360	$100,330	+6% above	2,160
44	Statisticians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$105,720	$105,650	same as	570
45	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$105,270	$125,040	16% below	290
46	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$104,490	$135,980	23% below	6,050
47	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$104,210	$109,270	5% below	120
48	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$104,170	$146,910	29% below	340
49	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$104,070	$139,500	25% below	360
50	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$103,900	$112,860	8% below	90
51	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$103,490	$129,180	20% below	1,460
52	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$102,040	$134,960	24% below	180
53	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$101,830	$133,000	23% below	210
54	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$101,590	$115,160	12% below	130
55	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$101,120	$103,020	2% below	260
56	Gas Plant Operators Production Occupations	$100,870	$87,820	+15% above	400
57	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$100,810	$149,230	32% below	140
58	Physical Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$99,010	$102,760	4% below	2,680
59	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$98,880	$159,670	38% below	3,430
60	Industrial Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$98,410	$102,440	4% below	1,710
61	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents Management Occupations	$97,880	$96,660	+1% above	180
62	Power Plant Operators Production Occupations	$97,760	$102,040	4% below	220
63	Audiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$96,980	$95,780	+1% above	110
64	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$96,860	$120,630	20% below	900
65	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$95,630	$128,500	26% below	30
66	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$94,410	$123,220	23% below	460
67	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$94,340	$123,860	24% below	6,440
68	Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$93,300	$68,020	+37% above	N/A
69	Commercial and Industrial Designers Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$92,540	$83,910	+10% above	230
70	Chemical Plant and System Operators Production Occupations	$91,610	$78,120	+17% above	240
71	Economists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$91,560	$124,720	27% below	50
72	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$89,810	$106,660	16% below	880
73	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$89,200	$107,230	17% below	1,440
74	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$87,520	$141,900	38% below	5,690
75	Computer Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$86,940	$116,580	25% below	1,120
76	Dental Hygienists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$86,760	$98,100	12% below	1,740
77	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers Production Occupations	$86,580	$96,710	10% below	220
78	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$86,330	$105,870	18% below	2,760
79	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$86,310	$114,990	25% below	2,280
80	Environmental Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$85,280	$107,110	20% below	210
81	Transportation Inspectors Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$85,130	$92,100	8% below	120
82	Civil Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$85,020	$100,840	16% below	1,870
83	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$84,480	$114,130	26% below	1,110
84	Food Scientists and Technologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$84,330	$88,720	5% below	310
85	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$83,670	$101,370	17% below	190
86	Speech-Language Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$83,580	$97,870	15% below	2,430
87	Database Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$82,480	$104,620	21% below	420
88	Biochemists and Biophysicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$82,390	$127,410	35% below	N/A
89	Insurance Underwriters Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$82,130	$81,370	+1% above	290
90	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$81,760	$105,850	23% below	4,100
91	Network and Computer Systems Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$81,590	$99,130	18% below	1,750
92	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$81,500	$96,590	16% below	640
93	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$81,450	$95,320	15% below	1,510
94	Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$81,330	$115,210	29% below	200
95	Financial and Investment Analysts Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$81,110	$102,740	21% below	1,390
96	Mechanical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$80,180	$104,110	23% below	1,410
97	Judicial Law Clerks Legal Occupations	$80,150	$64,920	+23% above	50
98	Personal Financial Advisors Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$79,420	$105,070	24% below	1,320
99	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$78,950	$105,310	25% below	80
100	Registered Nurses Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$78,940	$97,550	19% below	29,400

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Dermatologists

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About This Data

All salary data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. State-level data reflects wages for workers employed in Arkansas. The "Difference" column shows how Arkansas pay compares to the national median for that occupation.

Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS state-level wage data. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

Compiled by WageDex Editorial, Occupational Wages Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

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