The top 25 occupations in Arkansas ranked by 2026 median annual salary. Based on BLS data projected forward with Arkansas cost-of-living adjustment.
Ranked by median annual base salary. Click any role for full Arkansas-specific detail.
| Rank | Role | Median 2026 | 75th % | Top 10% (P90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CEO (Mid-Market) Business & Management | $407,400 | $529,600 | $672,200 |
| #2 | Surgeon Healthcare | $335,200 | $435,700 | $553,000 |
| #3 | Chief Financial Officer Finance | $306,800 | $398,800 | $506,200 |
| #4 | Physician (MD/DO) Healthcare | $248,500 | $323,100 | $410,000 |
| #5 | Corporate Lawyer Legal | $184,300 | $239,500 | $304,000 |
| #6 | Investment Banker Finance | $167,100 | $217,200 | $275,700 |
| #7 | Dentist Healthcare | $158,800 | $206,400 | $262,000 |
| #8 | AI Engineer Technology | $158,000 | $205,400 | $260,700 |
| #9 | Machine Learning Engineer Technology | $144,600 | $187,900 | $238,500 |
| #10 | Senior Software Engineer Technology | $141,200 | $183,600 | $233,000 |
| #11 | Site Reliability Engineer Technology | $136,200 | $177,000 | $224,700 |
| #12 | IT Manager Technology | $132,800 | $172,600 | $219,100 |
| #13 | Controller Finance | $130,300 | $169,300 | $214,900 |
| #14 | Judge / Magistrate Legal | $130,300 | $169,300 | $214,900 |
| #15 | Management Consultant Business & Management | $129,000 | $167,700 | $212,900 |
| #16 | Product Manager Technology | $127,800 | $166,100 | $210,800 |
| #17 | Lawyer / Attorney Legal | $126,800 | $164,900 | $209,300 |
| #18 | Petroleum Engineer Engineering | $125,600 | $163,300 | $207,300 |
| #19 | Sales Engineer Sales | $125,600 | $163,300 | $207,300 |
| #20 | Data Scientist Technology | $124,400 | $161,700 | $205,300 |
| #21 | Marketing Manager Business & Management | $123,100 | $160,000 | $203,100 |
| #22 | Pharmacist Healthcare | $121,700 | $158,200 | $200,800 |
| #23 | Account Executive (SaaS) Sales | $120,500 | $156,700 | $198,900 |
| #24 | Data Engineer Technology | $119,400 | $155,200 | $196,900 |
| #25 | Cloud Engineer (AWS/Azure) Technology | $119,400 | $155,200 | $196,900 |
In Arkansas, the highest-paying job tracked is CEO (Mid-Market), with a median salary of $407,400 in 2026. The 90th percentile reaches $672,200.
Salaries are based on BLS OEWS data, projected forward to 2026 using category-specific wage growth and adjusted for Arkansas's cost-of-living index. The ranking shows median annual base pay (excluding bonuses, equity, and benefits).
Most of the top 25 highest-paying jobs in Arkansas typically require at least a bachelor's degree, and many require advanced degrees (medicine, law, engineering specializations). Trades roles are notable exceptions — they appear in some state rankings without requiring four-year degrees.