Occupational profile · 2025
Arkansas
Arkansas employs 1,303,630 people. The work it does most unusually is graders and sorters, agricultural products, at 7.8× the national concentration — 1,650 jobs paying a median of $35,310.
What Arkansas is distinctive for
Detailed occupations ranked by location quotient. A location quotient is an occupation’s share of a state’s jobs divided by its share of the nation’s. One means the state looks like the country; two means twice the concentration. It is a measure of distinctiveness, not of quality, size or pay. Bars use a logarithmic scale so the lower ranks stay legible beside the leader.
- 1Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products1,650 jobs · median $35,3107.8×
- 2Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers9,030 jobs · median $37,9807.4×
- 3Logging Equipment Operators1,280 jobs · median $48,2807.3×
- 4Helpers--Production Workers6,760 jobs · median $35,5404.9×
- 5Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders2,190 jobs · median $48,3204.4×
- 6Machine Feeders and Offbearers1,580 jobs · median $45,2504.4×
- 7First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers1,720 jobs · median $49,5903.9×
- 8Slaughterers and Meat Packers2,140 jobs · median $37,8003.6×
- 9Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood1,240 jobs · median $36,7403.6×
- 10Millwrights1,140 jobs · median $56,3103.4×
- 11Food Processing Workers, All Other1,770 jobs · median $37,8403.3×
- 12Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders2,060 jobs · median $48,6302.5×
What Arkansas is made of
All twenty-two occupational groups by headcount, with the concentration figure beside each. Most states look broadly alike in this view — that is the finding, not a flaw in it.
| Occupation group | Share of state employment | Jobs | vs national | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | 153,060 | 1.03× | $39,500 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 134,380 | 1.17× | $38,640 | |
| Production Occupations | 116,140 | 1.62× | $41,120 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 114,770 | 1.02× | $32,020 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 111,930 | 0.98× | $27,600 | |
| Management Occupations | 95,070 | 1.02× | $84,800 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 92,160 | 1.12× | $75,070 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 74,270 | 0.97× | $51,680 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 69,070 | 0.78× | $65,100 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 62,400 | 1.22× | $49,610 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 53,160 | 0.99× | $45,870 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 52,880 | 0.80× | $31,220 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 37,640 | 0.99× | $30,570 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 28,860 | 0.91× | $43,350 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 27,920 | 0.63× | $84,450 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 19,480 | 0.71× | $29,240 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 15,980 | 0.71× | $46,720 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 13,240 | 0.60× | $77,700 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 11,510 | 0.67× | $44,220 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 7,800 | 0.63× | $62,820 | |
| Legal Occupations | 6,620 | 0.60× | $71,410 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 5,290 | 1.45× | $36,780 |
Elsewhere on Arkansas
Blank cells are estimates BLS did not release, usually because too few employers reported. They are shown as gaps rather than filled. Detailed occupations are included only where at least 1,000 people are employed, below which a quotient is survey noise. A wage marked “$239,200 or more” is censored at source: BLS does not publish medians above that figure, so the number is a floor rather than the wage. A work of the U.S. government: no copyright subsists (17 U.S.C. §105). BLS OEWS ↗