Compared with the local labor market
Program Eligibility Specialist I pay vs. Arkansas
Across all employers in Arkansas, the median wage for Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs — about 610 people — is $45,340. Department of Education pays a median base salary of $48,936 for this role, 8% above that figure — about the 68th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Education sits in the local pay range
$37,230
$38,030
$45,340
$50,230
$55,150
Department of Education median · $48,936
The bar is the range of annual wages for Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs across every employer in Arkansas, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Education’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs — about 154,800 people — is $54,210. Department of Education’s median base salary is 10% below that national figure, about the 34th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$38,900
$45,910
$54,210
$63,610
$74,690
Department of Education median · $48,936
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 Education is $48,936, 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.