Compared with the local labor market
Registered Nurse pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Registered Nurses — about 29,400 people — is $78,940. AR Department of Health pays a median base salary of $76,177 for this role, 3% below that figure — about the 44th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where AR Department of Health sits in the local pay range
$60,780
$66,640
$78,940
$90,280
$103,660
AR Department of Health median · $76,177
The bar is the range of annual wages for Registered Nurses across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows AR Department of Health’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Registered Nurses — about 3,379,720 people — is $97,550. AR Department of Health’s median base salary is 22% below that national figure, about the 20th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$68,940
$80,330
$97,550
$112,350
$137,470
AR Department of Health median · $76,177
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Arkansas range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at AR Department of Health is $76,177, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Registered Nurse beyond Arkansas
This role is reported in 15 jurisdictions. In Arkansas, the median of $75,245 ranks #8 of 15. See Registered Nurse across all of Arkansas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Registered Nurseroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.