Compared with the local labor market
Corrections Officer pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Correctional Officers and Jailers — about 4,460 people — is $40,330. Department of Correction pays a median base salary of $50,845 for this role, 26% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Correction sits in the local pay range
$31,200
$36,330
$40,330
$45,100
$49,360
Department of Correction median · $50,845
The bar is the range of annual wages for Correctional Officers and Jailers across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Correction’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Correctional Officers and Jailers — about 380,500 people — is $58,940. Department of Correction’s median base salary is 14% below that national figure, about the 30th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$42,760
$48,640
$58,940
$75,850
$93,220
Department of Correction median · $50,845
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 Correction is $50,845, 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
Corrections Officer beyond Arkansas
This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In Arkansas, the median of $50,845 ranks #2 of 3. See Corrections Officer across all of Arkansas →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Corrections Officerroles 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.