Compared with the local labor market
Chaplain pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Clergy — about 350 people — is $49,070. AR Department of Human Services pays a median base salary of $52,137 for this role, 6% above that figure — about the 57th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where AR Department of Human Services sits in the local pay range
$30,070
$38,350
$49,070
$59,430
$78,850
AR Department of Human Services median · $52,137
The bar is the range of annual wages for Clergy across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows AR Department of Human Services’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Clergy — about 57,200 people — is $60,810. AR Department of Human Services’s median base salary is 14% below that national figure, about the 33rd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$37,860
$48,260
$60,810
$76,640
$98,890
AR Department of Human Services median · $52,137
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 Human Services is $52,137, 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 departments
This role across Arkansas
Chaplain is held in 2 Arkansas departments. In AR Department of Human Services, the median of $52,137 ranks #1 of 2.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Chaplain role in other Arkansasdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Chaplain beyond Arkansas
This role is reported in 15 jurisdictions. In Arkansas, the median of $52,137 ranks #9 of 15. See Chaplain across all of Arkansas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Chaplain roles 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.