Colleges in Arkansas With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Graduate earnings are bunched together in Arkansas. The 15 four-year colleges we rank range only from $42,151 to $68,890, just $26,739 apart.
The median college sits at $50,422, which is $8,981 (15%) below the national median of $59,403. Private nonprofit colleges (6) have a median of $50,142 and public colleges (9) a median of $52,203, and the typical net price across the list is $17,248.
University of Arkansas ranks first at $68,890, ahead of University of Arkansas Grantham ($62,191) and University of Arkansas at Little Rock ($58,470).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Arkansas
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Arkansas has 15
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 15 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Public · 4-year | $68,890 | $18,209 | $21,500 | 70% | 28,677 |
| 2 | University of Arkansas Grantham LIttle Rock, AR Public · 4-year | $62,191 | $8,370 | $21,956 | 32% | 2,833 |
| 3 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, AR Public · 4-year | $58,470 | $17,248 | $22,000 | 42% | 4,949 |
| 4 | Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR Public · 4-year | $56,631 | $12,366 | $20,500 | 55% | 9,110 |
| 5 | John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $55,210 | $20,397 | $21,250 | 69% | 1,471 |
| 6 | Harding University Searcy, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $53,024 | $22,130 | $26,500 | 70% | 3,382 |
| 7 | University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR Public · 4-year | $52,203 | $16,511 | $20,346 | 53% | 7,762 |
| 8 | Hendrix College Conway, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $50,422 | $24,149 | $26,688 | 71% | 1,100 |
| 9 | University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR Public · 4-year | $49,998 | $10,574 | $18,250 | 37% | 4,091 |
| 10 | Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,862 | $22,409 | $21,050 | 66% | 1,602 |
| 11 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia, AR Public · 4-year | $49,008 | $14,027 | $18,750 | 48% | 2,708 |
| 12 | Henderson State University Arkadelphia, AR Public · 4-year | $47,583 | $23,405 | $19,500 | 38% | 1,456 |
| 13 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR Public · 4-year | $46,380 | $12,653 | $24,202 | 40% | 1,807 |
| 14 | University of the Ozarks Clarksville, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,099 | $17,360 | $20,875 | 52% | 767 |
| 15 | Philander Smith University Little Rock, AR Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,151 | $14,224 | $24,736 | 31% | 751 |
How to compare these colleges
High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Arkansas
Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Texas
92 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Missouri
38 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
37 schools
All 23 colleges in Arkansas See the national version of this ranking