Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in Arkansas are those of general dentist, with an average annual salary of $200,530. The second highest-paying jobs are those of judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates, with an average salary of $180,130.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Arkansas has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in Arkansas in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	General Dentists	$200,530	$74,980	1,020
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$180,130	$86,110	290
3	General Pediatricians	$179,070	$92,420	110
4	All Other Physicians	$178,310	$56,160	2,060
5	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$170,640	$212,810	120
6	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$164,640	$58,820	1,960
7	Nurse Anesthetists	$154,580	$103,250	380
8	Psychiatrists	$140,870	$52,950	150
9	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$131,790	$67,310	130
10	Pharmacists	$128,570	$80,730	3,180
11	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,010	$82,500	870
12	Sales Managers	$122,520	$56,440	2,170
13	Medical Dosimetrists	$120,490	$109,550	0
14	Marketing Managers	$115,060	$49,980	1,130
15	Chief Executives	$111,780	$36,200	2,620
16	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$111,110	$111,110	0
17	Natural Sciences Managers	$110,090	$52,890	290
18	Optometrists	$109,050	$64,430	290
19	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$108,560	$66,190	2,750
20	Computer Network Architects	$105,100	$57,980	710
21	Public Relations Managers	$105,040	$60,430	280
22	Purchasing Managers	$103,870	$61,670	1,070
23	Nurse Practitioners	$102,880	$83,670	2,970
24	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$102,050	$55,860	130
25	Financial Managers	$101,660	$49,320	6,450
26	Industrial Production Managers	$101,380	$61,650	2,080
27	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$101,360	$77,970	100
28	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$99,950	$72,750	270
29	Other Psychologists	$99,900	$26,290	80
30	Materials Engineers	$98,880	$63,530	50
31	Training and Development Managers	$98,320	$49,130	250
32	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$98,240	$35,500	140
33	Aerospace Engineers	$98,190	$77,090	90
34	Physical Therapists	$98,180	$64,340	1,930
35	Physicists	$97,810	$97,810	50
36	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$97,800	$49,680	320
37	Art Directors	$94,490	$54,990	180
38	Human Resources Managers	$93,830	$52,130	1,200
39	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$93,080	$67,600	220
40	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$92,530	$58,440	1,180
41	Administrative Services Managers	$90,880	$55,800	1,060
42	Veterinarians	$90,880	$53,160	490
43	Air Traffic Controllers	$90,060	$61,050	220
44	Software Developers	$87,880	$38,880	5,140
45	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$87,230	$36,410	30
46	Lawyers	$86,340	$48,120	3,390
47	Database Architects	$86,060	$68,400	300
48	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$85,940	$76,400	180
49	All Other Managers	$85,940	$47,730	5,400
50	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$85,870	$64,390	180
51	Geoscientists (Except Hydrologists and Geographers)	$85,790	$44,070	120
52	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$85,760	$64,870	220
53	Boilermakers	$85,650	$40,500	100
54	Petroleum Engineers	$85,570	$76,130	110
55	Audiologists	$85,280	$49,560	120
56	Multimedia Artists and Animators	$84,800	$33,140	30
57	Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers	$84,440	$46,640	100
58	Chemical Engineers	$83,610	$73,600	100
59	Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators	$83,590	$22,880	60
60	Information Security Analysts	$83,370	$47,300	920
61	Locomotive Engineers	$83,040	$62,890	690
62	Facilities Managers	$82,950	$51,370	550
63	Food Scientists and Technologists	$82,490	$31,420	240
64	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$82,260	$50,600	1,330
65	Electrical Engineers	$82,040	$60,290	810
66	Industrial Engineers	$81,960	$60,930	1,940
67	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$80,800	$63,770	2,430
68	Power Plant Operators	$80,630	$53,390	200
69	Radiation Therapists	$80,510	$65,030	120
70	Medical and Health Services Managers	$80,330	$53,250	6,360
71	Occupational Therapists	$79,980	$43,350	1,360
72	Environmental Engineers	$79,890	$47,910	140
73	Sales Engineers	$79,890	$58,990	180
74	Other Biological Scientists	$79,440	$41,550	250
75	Orthotists and Prosthetists	$79,250	$49,470	160
76	Commercial Pilots	$79,010	$35,100	560
77	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$78,860	$48,090	160
78	Computer Programmers	$78,710	$40,690	2,090
79	Real Estate Brokers	$78,530	$24,870	290
80	Project Management Specialists	$78,510	$45,680	4,580
81	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$78,320	$53,160	100
82	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$78,160	$50,790	810
83	Computer Systems Analysts	$77,960	$50,950	2,430
84	Computer Hardware Engineers	$77,890	$59,390	60
85	Financial Analysts	$77,880	$49,500	1,030
86	Financial Examiners	$77,810	$45,950	430
87	Dental Hygienists	$77,530	$46,800	1,590
88	Chiropractors	$77,480	$29,510	300
89	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$76,800	$46,410	320
90	Civil Engineers	$76,580	$58,640	1,890
91	Construction Managers	$76,550	$47,080	1,770
92	Engineers, All Other	$76,370	$46,000	310
93	Database Administrators	$76,280	$44,130	400
94	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$76,270	$45,430	1,560
95	Actuaries	$75,930	$49,840	60
96	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$75,680	$47,370	600
97	Postsecondary Physics Teachers	$75,510	$46,400	90
98	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$75,030	$47,720	140
99	Private Detectives and Investigators	$75,000	$34,320	260
100	Anthropology and Archeology Teachers	$74,410	$58,280	40

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$196,080
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$170,720
3	General Pediatricians	$169,660
4	General Dentists	$168,420
5	All Other Physicians	$159,790
6	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$155,580
7	Nurse Anesthetists	$154,580
8	Podiatrists	$127,740
9	Pharmacists	$127,240
10	Marketing Managers	$126,500

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$190,800
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$174,040
3	General Dentists	$145,560
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$133,810
5	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$128,450
6	Marketing Managers	$126,830
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,000
8	Pharmacists	$125,120
9	Sales Managers	$123,800
10	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$114,020

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$189,750
2	Psychiatrists	$174,580
3	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$170,640
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$157,000
5	Marketing Managers	$145,140
6	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$141,720
7	General Dentists	$136,660
8	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$129,550
9	Other Specialists Dentists	$128,140
10	Pharmacists	$122,960

Also see The most popular jobs in Arkansas.