State profile · NCES F-33 FY2023
Teacher Salary in Arkansas
Arkansas sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $43,221 (#49 of 49). According to the NCES Common Core of Data finance survey, estimated teacher pay and per-pupil spending are available for every public school district in Arkansas.
- $43,221
- Est. state avg salary
- -38.5%
- vs national
- #49
- National rank
- 234
- Districts
Well below benchmark
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Arkansas sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $43,221 (#49 of 49). Estimated average teacher salary is $43,221, materially below the national average of $70,245, ranking #49 of 49, across 199 public school districts with reliable data (NCES CCD F-33, FY2023).
- Lower-third estimated pay: Arkansas sits in the lowest third of reporting jurisdictions at $43,221 (#49 of 49).
- lower third nationally (#49 of 49)
- Arkansas ranks #49 of 49 on the salary estimate and #32 of 49 on enrollment in the same reliable-district pool.
- $43,913 spread between its highest- and lowest-paying districts
- -38.5% vs the national average
- +9.0% estimated-basis panel FY2019→FY2023 (balanced cohort, not the FTE average above)
- #46 of 49 purchasing-power-adjusted (BEA RPP 86.8)
Arkansas sits in the lower third for estimated pay
Across 199 reliable-salary districts, the average estimate is $43,221: #49 of 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate, and 38.5% below the national benchmark of $70,245.
The rank compares the same F-33-derived district measure nationwide. It does not include benefits, experience steps, taxes, or local living costs; use it as a relative state placement rather than an exact paycheck.
Arkansas purchasing-power check on lower-third pay
Arkansas's nominal average teacher salary ranks #49 of the 49 states and territories that report teacher salaries. Adjusted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's 2023 Regional Price Parity (86.8, US = 100, a relative state-level price-level index, not a district or metro cost-of-living figure), the estimate becomes $58,587, ranking #46 of 49 , 3 places higher than the nominal rank once relative price levels are factored in. This purchasing-power view is not published by NEA's teacher-pay rankings or the aggregator sites; it comes from combining our own F-33-derived salary estimate with BEA's public RPP series. See the full 51-state release for methodology and download. BEA Regional Price Parities · NCES CCD F-33
Arkansas in the teacher-salary distribution
FY2023 estimated state averages from the same NCES-derived ranking
$43,221 0th percentile higher than 0% of 49 reporting states and territories
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more reporting states and territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey; state estimates derived from reported instructional-salary expenditure and teacher FTE · FY2023
Arkansas's comparable salary trend
Same reporting-district cohort, FY2019-FY2023
- FY2023 estimated average
- $56,287 9.041043820719285% vs FY2019
- 233 districts held in the panel
Read the chart as text
| Period | Arkansas est. avg teacher salary |
|---|---|
| FY2019 | $51,620 |
| FY2020 | $51,708 |
| FY2021 | $54,188 |
| FY2022 | $55,641 |
| FY2023 | $56,287 |
Highest-paying districts in Arkansas
Estimated average teacher salary, enrolling districts (200+ students)
-
$73,997 Est. avg salary
-
$71,641 Est. avg salary
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$68,440 Est. avg salary
-
$66,512 Est. avg salary
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$63,411 Est. avg salary
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$60,869 Est. avg salary
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$59,925 Est. avg salary
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$58,246 Est. avg salary
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$57,508 Est. avg salary
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$57,455 Est. avg salary
What this shows Fayetteville School District leads Arkansas on the F-33 instructional-salary estimate. Service entities (CTCs, county offices) are excluded, their enrollment-based ratios are not reliable salary figures.
Top 3 districts
Districts by Estimated Teacher Salary
Showing 1–100 of 199 enrolling districts. Specialized non-enrolling agencies (career/technical centers, county offices, service co-ops) are excluded from the salary ranking, their enrollment-based estimates are not reliable.
Lowest-Paying Districts in Arkansas
| District | Est. Avg Salary | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Atkins School District | $30,084 | 989 |
| Magnet Cove School Dist. | $30,229 | 725 |
| Augusta School District | $30,529 | 371 |
| Lee County School District | $30,546 | 631 |
| Hackett School District | $30,646 | 820 |
| Melbourne School District | $30,816 | 871 |
| Two Rivers School District | $30,950 | 783 |
| Calico Rock School District | $30,964 | 385 |
| Hope School District | $31,032 | 2,263 |
| Cutter-morning Star Sch. Dist. | $31,332 | 690 |
Among enrolling districts (200+ students) with a reliable estimate; service entities excluded, see methodology.
Nationwide peers near Arkansas's lower-third pay
Two nationwide peer sets for Arkansas: closest on estimated average teacher salary ($43,221 here) and closest on total student enrollment (467,862 here). Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not geographic containment.
Similar estimated salary
Nearest other states by unweighted district-mean teacher pay (F-33 derived, ≥5 districts with reliable estimates).
Similar enrollment
Nearest other states by NCES-reported K-12 enrollment. Salary peers above are excluded.
Compare Nearby-Ranked States
Data: NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey + Staff Universe Survey, FY2023. Salary figures divide instructional expenditure (variable Z33) by each district's reported teacher FTE, or an estimated FTE for the small minority with no reported figure. Not individual salary data. Read our methodology.
Arkansas teacher salary FAQ
What is the average teacher salary in Arkansas?
Across 199 Arkansas public school districts with reliable data, the average teacher salary is $43,221 (NCES CCD F-33 reported teacher salaries divided by CCD Staff Universe Survey teacher headcounts, FY2023). It is a district-level mean derived from finance filings, so it will not match a contract-salary survey exactly, read it as a relative comparison.
Which Arkansas school district pays teachers the most?
Fayetteville School District reports the highest average teacher salary in Arkansas at $73,997, while Atkins School District sits at the lower end at $30,084.
How does Arkansas teacher pay compare to the national average?
Arkansas's average of $43,221 is materially below the national average of $70,245 (-38.5%), ranking #49 of the 49 jurisdictions with a reliable district estimate.
How many school districts are in Arkansas?
Arkansas has 234 public school districts in the NCES CCD F-33 Finance Survey, together serving 467,862 students.
How much do teachers make in Arkansas?
District-average teacher pay in Arkansas sits in a comparatively narrow band, from $30,084 in Atkins School District to $73,997 in Fayetteville School District. With that little district-to-district spread the statewide figure is a reasonable guide to what most districts pay. These are district-wide averages from NCES CCD F-33 (FY2023), not individual salaries or pay-scale steps.
Can teachers earn $100,000 in Arkansas?
No Arkansas district with reliable data reports an estimated average teacher salary at or above $100,000; the state's highest is Fayetteville School District at $73,997. This is a district-wide average, not an individual salary, step, or years-of-experience figure.
How does Arkansas rank after adjusting for cost of living?
Within the separate enrollment-weighted state comparison, BEA's 2023 Regional Price Parity (86.8, US=100) adjusts Arkansas's nominal estimate of $50,859 from #47 to $58,587 and #46. The headline uses an unweighted district mean, so this does not replace it. Neither measure is take-home pay, taxes, or district/metro cost of living.
Explore Arkansas
Disclaimer & data sources
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainTeacher for Arkansas
| Publisher | PlainTeacher |
| Sources | Public official public datasets |