BLS QCEW · 2026-Q1 · BLS OEWS · May 2025
Jobs and pay in Northwest Arkansas
Who employs the region and what the work pays. QCEW counts every job covered by unemployment insurance, by county and industry; OEWS reports pay for each occupation in the metro.
NWA metro jobs, 2026-Q1
276,349
▲ 0.5% vs a year earlier
third month of the quarter · BLS QCEW, newest quarter preliminary · 2026-Q1
Average weekly wage, 2026-Q1
$1,887
Arkansas $1,291 · U.S. $1,654 · 2026-Q1
Business establishments, 2026-Q1
17,069
▲ 4.0% vs a year earlier
NWA metro · BLS QCEW · 2026-Q1
Typical annual pay, all jobs
$46,610
median · Arkansas $43,630 · U.S. $50,980 · May 2025
Jobs by county
Covered jobs, third month of each quarter
Data through 2026-Q1 · Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections
Average weekly wage, 2026-Q1
All covered jobs, all industries
Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections
By industry
2026-Q1 · change vs a year earlier
| Industry | Jobs | vs a year earlier | Avg weekly wage | U.S. avg weekly wage | Concentration vs U.S. | Establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional & business services | 41,170 | +13 (0.0%) | $6,030 | $2,295 | 1.90× | 2,206 |
| Trade, transportation & utilities | 32,954 | +497 (+1.5%) | $1,472 | $1,317 | 1.19× | 1,869 |
| Leisure & hospitality | 17,519 | +1,091 (+6.6%) | $495 | $655 | 1.08× | 912 |
| Education & health services | 16,707 | +329 (+2.0%) | $1,047 | $1,282 | 0.64× | 1,121 |
| Manufacturing | 12,984 | +19 (+0.1%) | $1,172 | $1,918 | 1.06× | 223 |
| Construction | 9,270 | — | $1,321 | $1,634 | 1.16× | 1,081 |
| Financial activities | 4,635 | +159 (+3.6%) | $1,860 | $3,668 | 0.54× | 982 |
| Other services | 3,510 | — | $981 | $1,067 | 0.77× | 703 |
| Information | 1,155 | — | $2,021 | $4,147 | 0.41× | 142 |
| Natural resources & mining | 791 | — | $1,349 | $1,711 | 0.48× | 62 |
| Industry | Jobs | vs a year earlier | Avg weekly wage | U.S. avg weekly wage | Concentration vs U.S. | Establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade, transportation & utilities | 24,136 | +254 (+1.1%) | $1,069 | $1,317 | 1.10× | 1,406 |
| Education & health services | 18,407 | -69 (-0.4%) | $1,206 | $1,282 | 0.89× | 1,020 |
| Leisure & hospitality | 15,250 | +377 (+2.5%) | $447 | $655 | 1.19× | 835 |
| Professional & business services | 14,857 | +54 (+0.4%) | $1,601 | $2,295 | 0.86× | 1,483 |
| Manufacturing | 12,183 | -1,457 (-10.7%) | $1,106 | $1,918 | 1.25× | 232 |
| Construction | 7,933 | -51 (-0.6%) | $1,410 | $1,634 | 1.25× | 740 |
| Financial activities | 4,096 | -106 (-2.5%) | $1,625 | $3,668 | 0.60× | 810 |
| Other services | 3,164 | -6 (-0.2%) | $973 | $1,067 | 0.88× | 514 |
| Information | 880 | -47 (-5.1%) | $1,713 | $4,147 | 0.40× | 105 |
| Natural resources & mining | 416 | +52 (+14.3%) | $1,096 | $1,711 | 0.32× | 49 |
| Industry | Jobs | vs a year earlier | Avg weekly wage | U.S. avg weekly wage | Concentration vs U.S. | Establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 3,388 | -82 (-2.4%) | $836 | $1,918 | 3.97× | 30 |
| Trade, transportation & utilities | 1,632 | +129 (+8.6%) | $807 | $1,317 | 0.85× | 171 |
| Leisure & hospitality | 1,502 | -37 (-2.4%) | $424 | $655 | 1.33× | 179 |
| Education & health services | 867 | -8 (-0.9%) | $968 | $1,282 | 0.47× | 86 |
| Professional & business services | 594 | +152 (+34.4%) | $831 | $2,295 | 0.39× | 94 |
| Construction | 448 | -13 (-2.8%) | $1,000 | $1,634 | 0.80× | 93 |
| Financial activities | 395 | +18 (+4.8%) | $1,277 | $3,668 | 0.66× | 59 |
| Natural resources & mining | 279 | +14 (+5.3%) | $893 | $1,711 | 2.44× | 21 |
| Other services | 157 | +7 (+4.7%) | $623 | $1,067 | 0.49× | 45 |
| Information | 33 | +12 (+57.1%) | $807 | $4,147 | 0.17× | 8 |
| Industry | Jobs | vs a year earlier | Avg weekly wage | U.S. avg weekly wage | Concentration vs U.S. | Establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1,110 | +49 (+4.6%) | $987 | $1,918 | 3.84× | 22 |
| Trade, transportation & utilities | 861 | +27 (+3.2%) | $871 | $1,317 | 1.32× | 60 |
| Education & health services | 294 | +11 (+3.9%) | $888 | $1,282 | 0.48× | 38 |
| Leisure & hospitality | 159 | -17 (-9.7%) | $324 | $655 | 0.42× | 14 |
| Financial activities | 81 | -6 (-6.9%) | $1,260 | $3,668 | 0.40× | 25 |
| Professional & business services | 74 | -3 (-3.9%) | $888 | $2,295 | 0.14× | 30 |
Private and public employers combined. Concentration (location quotient) above 1.00 means the industry is a bigger share of local jobs than nationally. "—" means BLS withheld the figure to protect a single employer, not zero.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · as of Oct 20, 2026
Who's hiring and what it pays
Census QWI · hires 2025-Q4 · pay 2025-Q3
Restaurants and hotels hire more people than any other industry in both Benton and Washington counties. Their new hires average $1,838 a month in Benton County and $1,536 in Washington County.
Hires per quarter, private employers
Every new start, including replacements
Data through 2025-Q4 · Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections
Average monthly pay, Benton County
New hires vs all workers on the job the whole quarter
Data through 2025-Q3 · Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections
Benton County, all private employers: 22,870 hires in 2025-Q4 (+0.6% vs a year earlier) · new hires averaged $3,964 a month vs $7,052 for all workers (2025-Q3).
| Industry | Hires | Hires per 100 jobs | New-hire pay / mo | All-worker pay / mo | Jobs vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 4,745 | 32.5 | $1,838 | $2,376 | +5.9% |
| Retail Trade | 2,849 | 20.3 | $3,130 | $6,040 | +2.0% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 2,466 | 15.8 | $3,065 | $4,767 | +1.6% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 2,417 | 32.1 | $3,817 | $4,864 | +3.1% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,849 | 14.4 | $5,358 | $7,630 | +1.7% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,765 | 6.7 | $7,210 | $12,075 | +4.3% |
| Construction | 1,558 | 16.1 | $4,692 | $6,019 | +2.4% |
| Manufacturing | 1,279 | 9.4 | $4,036 | $5,192 | 0.0% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 1,063 | 9.2 | $4,423 | $7,487 | -1.5% |
| Wholesale Trade | 776 | 9.0 | $7,241 | $9,402 | +0.3% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 670 | 20.7 | $2,730 | $4,262 | +7.2% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 384 | 15.7 | $1,488 | $2,675 | +1.5% |
| Educational Services | 344 | 12.1 | $1,302 | $2,572 | +2.4% |
| Finance and Insurance | 251 | 7.0 | $4,823 | $7,565 | +11.2% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 246 | 15.9 | $3,713 | $5,287 | +1.8% |
| Information | 116 | 7.7 | $5,579 | $8,145 | +30.1% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 76 | 10.0 | $3,311 | $5,171 | +8.4% |
| Utilities | 12 | 2.4 | $4,475 | $7,670 | +1.4% |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 3 | 4.7 | $6,202 | $6,946 | -12.3% |
Washington County, all private employers: 18,479 hires in 2025-Q4 (-3.4% vs a year earlier) · new hires averaged $3,458 a month vs $5,345 for all workers (2025-Q3).
| Industry | Hires | Hires per 100 jobs | New-hire pay / mo | All-worker pay / mo | Jobs vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 3,772 | 28.0 | $1,536 | $2,173 | -0.3% |
| Retail Trade | 2,656 | 19.1 | $2,993 | $5,121 | +3.3% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 2,574 | 40.9 | $3,171 | $4,198 | +2.6% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 2,303 | 12.3 | $3,507 | $5,368 | +4.6% |
| Manufacturing | 1,542 | 11.3 | $3,958 | $5,133 | -8.5% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 1,262 | 23.6 | $4,585 | $6,002 | -1.0% |
| Construction | 1,090 | 12.3 | $4,915 | $6,232 | +1.7% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 687 | 10.9 | $5,316 | $6,693 | +3.8% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 577 | 16.8 | $3,145 | $4,492 | +5.1% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 455 | 25.9 | $1,400 | $2,380 | +4.9% |
| Wholesale Trade | 427 | 9.6 | $6,380 | $8,200 | +0.3% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 377 | 7.5 | $6,274 | $8,914 | +7.7% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 232 | 14.2 | $3,488 | $4,753 | -3.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 212 | 7.7 | $4,432 | $6,860 | -1.7% |
| Educational Services | 144 | 12.0 | $1,534 | $3,098 | +2.8% |
| Information | 86 | 8.0 | $4,597 | $6,669 | -7.2% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 55 | 12.8 | $3,428 | $5,583 | +6.2% |
| Utilities | 27 | 6.4 | $6,573 | $9,078 | -5.3% |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 0 | — | $6,229 | $6,435 | — |
Carroll County, all private employers: 1,388 hires in 2025-Q4 (+17.9% vs a year earlier) · new hires averaged $2,754 a month vs $3,827 for all workers (2025-Q3).
| Industry | Hires | Hires per 100 jobs | New-hire pay / mo | All-worker pay / mo | Jobs vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 300 | 7.1 | $3,112 | $3,830 | -0.9% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 261 | 18.6 | $1,924 | $2,175 | -2.2% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 212 | 51.1 | $2,280 | $3,515 | +41.2% |
| Retail Trade | 146 | 15.5 | $2,439 | $3,778 | +1.3% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 140 | 17.8 | $3,854 | $4,899 | +2.7% |
| Wholesale Trade | 72 | 24.8 | $4,553 | $5,046 | +14.6% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 60 | 21.6 | $2,585 | $4,744 | +5.7% |
| Construction | 46 | 9.0 | $4,676 | $4,769 | +6.7% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 32 | 6.3 | $618 | $1,189 | +8.1% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 25 | 14.5 | $3,275 | $2,811 | +8.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 22 | 6.2 | $3,770 | $5,755 | +1.4% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 21 | 8.6 | $4,598 | $4,529 | +4.7% |
| Information | 15 | 41.7 | $19,977 | $12,208 | -21.7% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 13 | 20.3 | $3,550 | $3,818 | -8.6% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 10 | 15.9 | $1,363 | $2,414 | +14.5% |
| Educational Services | 9 | 13.8 | $1,605 | $3,150 | +10.2% |
| Utilities | 4 | 1.6 | $3,883 | $7,445 | +5.5% |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 0 | — | $3,615 | $4,844 | 0.0% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 0 | — | $2,285 | $8,856 | — |
Madison County, all private employers: 510 hires in 2025-Q4 (-13.9% vs a year earlier) · new hires averaged $3,721 a month vs $4,476 for all workers (2025-Q3).
| Industry | Hires | Hires per 100 jobs | New-hire pay / mo | All-worker pay / mo | Jobs vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 214 | 17.2 | $4,454 | $4,539 | +6.9% |
| Retail Trade | 78 | 18.1 | $2,939 | $4,502 | -1.1% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 65 | 42.2 | $993 | $1,562 | -11.5% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 46 | 18.0 | $5,352 | $5,702 | -0.8% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 43 | 16.6 | $4,196 | $4,009 | -9.1% |
| Construction | 29 | 19.2 | $2,610 | $4,487 | -17.5% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 8 | 17.8 | $4,250 | $3,858 | -2.2% |
| Wholesale Trade | 8 | 15.1 | $4,529 | $6,049 | +17.8% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 5 | 10.2 | $3,010 | $4,578 | -3.9% |
| Finance and Insurance | 4 | 5.7 | $2,728 | $5,556 | -1.4% |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 4 | 44.4 | $4,687 | $2,155 | -10.0% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 3 | — | $2,213 | $3,564 | 0.0% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 3 | 4.1 | $737 | $3,298 | -1.4% |
| Utilities | 0 | — | $3,401 | $6,513 | — |
| Information | 0 | — | $4,833 | $7,382 | -14.9% |
| Educational Services | 0 | — | $6,026 | $3,099 | -40.0% |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 0 | — | $8,703 | $8,703 | — |
Private jobs, counted where people work. Hires and jobs are for 2025-Q4; pay runs one quarter behind (2025-Q3). Not seasonally adjusted, so every comparison is with the same quarter a year earlier. "—" means Census withheld or flagged the figure, not zero. Click a column to sort.
U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators · as of Oct 20, 2026 · collected Oct 21, 2026
What jobs pay
NWA metro · BLS OEWS · May 2025
The bar runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile of annual pay; the dark mark is the median, with Arkansas (A) and U.S. (U) medians for comparison. Jobs are rounded by BLS.
What NWA does more of than the nation · occupations with at least 200 jobs, by concentration
| Occupation | Jobs | Concentration vs U.S. | Median pay | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 2,500 | 9.7× | $37,980 | $38,300 |
| Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | 420 | 9.5× | $36,000 | $35,730 |
| Helpers--Production Workers | 1,700 | 5.8× | $37,530 | $39,070 |
| Food Processing Workers, All Other | 430 | 3.7× | $38,460 | $39,680 |
| Computer Programmers | 490 | 3.0× | $136,880 | $100,390 |
| Logisticians | 1,230 | 2.8× | $80,500 | $82,320 |
| Purchasing Managers | 410 | 2.7× | $176,300 | $148,080 |
| Architectural and Civil Drafters | 500 | 2.7× | $63,230 | $66,150 |
| Advertising Sales Agents | 430 | 2.6× | $59,730 | $64,820 |
| Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping | 370 | 2.3× | $46,190 | $50,610 |
| Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | 690 | 2.3× | $51,160 | $46,330 |
| Food Batchmakers | 690 | 2.3× | $41,230 | $42,290 |
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · as of Oct 20, 2026