Elementary school teachers, except special education job market in Arkansas

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

Arkansas industry employment changed 0.9 percentage points below the U.S. benchmark

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Elementary school teachers, except special education in Arkansas.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 98.76% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Elementary school teachers, except special education earn in Arkansas

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$52,700Arkansas
Middle 50% of published wages
$50,940 – $60,750
U.S. median annual wage
$63,970
Reference period
May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around Arkansas

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Elementary school teachers, except special education, compared with the Arkansas median of $52,700.

Arkansas median$52,700
Memphis, TN-MS-AR$61,510+16.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$52,680 – $64,590Published employment5,410
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR$61,010+15.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$57,400 – $62,080Published employment2,380
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR$58,580+11.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$51,620 – $61,690Published employment3,210
Hot Springs, AR$57,730+9.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$51,570 – $61,330Published employment340
Jonesboro, AR$56,270+6.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$52,100 – $60,750Published employment570
Fort Smith, AR-OK$52,620−0.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$49,460 – $64,300Published employment840
View 1 more published metro area
Texarkana, TX-AR$50,270−4.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$48,040 – $59,960Published employment720

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the Arkansas median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in Arkansas’s weighted industry mix.

+1.3%Industry employmentArkansas industry employmentU.S. +2.2%vs. +2.2% U.S.
+0.6%Establishments in weighted industriesArkansas establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +7.0%vs. +7.0% U.S.
+1.3%Avg. weekly industry wageArkansas avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +2.3% · not occupation payvs. +2.3% U.S. · not occupation pay
-0.9 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 14,805 represented establishments, 98.73% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for elementary school teachers, except special education in Arkansas

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

Published median pay is below the U.S. median

The OEWS May 2025 estimates put median annual pay for elementary school teachers, except special education at $52,700 in Arkansas and $63,970 nationally. The state median is 17.6% lower. Living costs are not included in this comparison, and individual workers' pay varies.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Pay differs widely between metro areas

The OEWS May 2025 estimates show a 15.9% median-pay difference between the endpoints of Arkansas's published metro comparison. Across 5 metro areas with estimates on the same basis, Fort Smith, AR-OK records $52,620 and Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR records $61,010. These wage figures do not account for living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values
  • Arkansas · 2026 Q1+1.3%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark+2.2%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly Arkansas industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterArkansasCoverage
2024 Q2+3.2%100%
2024 Q3+3.0%100%
2024 Q4+3.0%100%
2025 Q1+2.3%98.76%
2025 Q2+2.5%100%
2025 Q3+2.1%100%
2025 Q4+2.1%100%
2026 Q1+1.3%98.76%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows Arkansas’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters
8
Earliest quarter
2024 Q2
Latest quarter
2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark
+2.2%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Elementary school teachers, except special education Work

The occupation mix determines which Arkansas industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the Arkansas Elementary school teachers, except special education context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Private education and health services98.7%+1.3%14,805$1,064
Other services1.2%Not published6,972$947
State and local0.0%-0.4%3,129$1,032

Which industries are growing?

One weighted industry is growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive Arkansas employment change are listed.

  • Private education and health services+1.3%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current Arkansas context

Current Arkansas Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in Arkansas. They are not Elementary school teachers, except special education demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · Arkansas

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

116.4Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
+16.4%Versus the February 2020 baseline
+1.8%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026112.03
Jul 31, 2026112.24
Aug 7, 2026112.17
Aug 14, 2026111.85
Aug 21, 2026111.51
Aug 28, 2026111.47
Sep 4, 2026112.75
Sep 11, 2026114.12
Sep 18, 2026114.51
Sep 25, 2026114.35
Oct 2, 2026115.49
Oct 9, 2026116.55
Oct 16, 2026116.68
Oct 23, 2026116.43

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Elementary school teachers, except special education in Arkansas FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Elementary school teachers, except special education in Arkansas?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the Arkansas industries weighted to Elementary school teachers, except special education changed +1.3% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with +2.2% nationwide.

Are wages for Elementary school teachers, except special education rising in Arkansas?

QCEW does not publish pay for Elementary school teachers, except special education in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +1.3% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this Arkansas industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 98.76% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Elementary school teachers, except special education openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 98.76% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation
Elementary school teachers, except special education
SOC code
25-2021
State
Arkansas
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
+1.3%State data coverage 98.76%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
+2.2%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
-0.9 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year
+0.6%State data coverage 98.76%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+1.3%State data coverage 98.76%
Industry mix vintage
EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date
Aug 28, 2026
Source verification
Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL
https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/elementary-school-teachers-except-special-education/arkansas#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.

Elementary school teachers, except special education in other states