Compared with the local labor market
Chemist I pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Chemists — about 380 people — is $75,570. Department of Agriculture pays a median base salary of $58,700 for this role, 22% below that figure — about the 26th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Agriculture sits in the local pay range
$46,600
$57,830
$75,570
$106,330
$131,620
Department of Agriculture median · $58,700
The bar is the range of annual wages for Chemists across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Agriculture’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Chemists — about 82,770 people — is $91,240. Department of Agriculture’s median base salary is 36% below that national figure, about the 10th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$58,460
$69,460
$91,240
$125,550
$160,830
Department of Agriculture median · $58,700
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 Department of Agriculture is $58,700, 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
Chemist I is held in 3 Arkansas departments. In Department of Agriculture, the median of $58,700 ranks #1 of 3.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Chemist I role in other Arkansasdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Chemist beyond Arkansas
This role is reported in 16 jurisdictions. In Arkansas, the median of $60,164 ranks #11 of 16. See Chemist across all of Arkansas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Chemist 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.