Best Accountant programs in Arkansas, ranked by enrollment
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
27 schools in Arkansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 621 people a year. The job pays a median of $66,330 in Arkansas across about 7,870 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Arkansas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Arkansas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Arkansas (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Arkansas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accountingmain feeder CIP 52.0301In Arkansas → | 604 | 97.3% | 26 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 2 | Accounting and Financemain feeder CIP 52.0304In Arkansas → | 16 | 2.6% | 2 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
| 3 | Accounting and Business/Managementmain feeder CIP 52.0305In Arkansas → | 1 | 0.2% | 1 | $51,824 | $24,433 |
Top 25 schools in Arkansas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 27 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 254 | Accounting | $57,535 | 71% | — | 74% |
| 2 | University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Accounting | $50,695 | 54% | — | 89% |
| 3 | Harding University Searcy, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Accounting | $58,649 | 69% | $19,423 | 71% |
| 4 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 46 | Accounting | $58,845 | 42% | — | 59% |
| 5 | Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Accounting | $58,152 | 55% | — | 82% |
| 6 | Hendrix College Conway, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Accounting | — | 72% | $22,415 | 56% |
| 7 | Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Accounting | — | 49% | — | 96% |
| 8 | Arkansas State University Mid - South West Memphis, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Accounting | — | 58% | — | — |
| 9 | University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR Public · 2 feeder programs | 14 | Accounting and Finance | — | 38% | — | 80% |
| 10 | Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Accounting | — | 61% | $21,322 | 68% |
| 11 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Accounting | $40,138 | 49% | — | 75% |
| 12 | University of Arkansas at Monticello Monticello, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Accounting | — | 49% | — | — |
| 13 | University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College North Little Rock, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Accounting | — | 36% | — | — |
| 14 | Central Baptist College Conway, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Accounting | — | 34% | $16,728 | 63% |
| 15 | University of the Ozarks Clarksville, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Accounting | — | 51% | $13,608 | 60% |
| 16 | Henderson State University Arkadelphia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Accounting | — | 37% | — | — |
| 17 | Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas Helena, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Accounting | — | 55% | — | — |
| 18 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Accounting | $32,401 | 40% | — | 41% |
| 19 | John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | — | 72% | $20,325 | 76% |
| 20 | North Arkansas College Harrison, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | — | 42% | — | — |
| 21 | University of Arkansas Grantham LIttle Rock, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | $48,931 | 43% | — | — |
| 22 | University of Arkansas - East Arkansas Community College Forrest City, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Accounting | — | 51% | — | — |
| 23 | Arkansas Baptist College Little Rock, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Accounting | — | 7% | $16,043 | — |
| 24 | Arkansas State University Three Rivers Malvern, AR Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Accounting | — | 26% | — | — |
| 25 | Lyon College Batesville, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Accounting | — | 47% | $22,199 | 63% |
All 27 schools in Arkansas
Every school in Arkansas with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas | Fayetteville | Public | 254 | 1 |
| University of Central Arkansas | Conway | Public | 73 | 1 |
| Harding University | Searcy | Private not-for-profit | 52 | 1 |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | Little Rock | Public | 46 | 2 |
| Arkansas State University | Jonesboro | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Hendrix College | Conway | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Arkansas State University Mid - South | West Memphis | Public | 19 | 1 |
| University of Arkansas - Fort Smith | Fort Smith | Public | 14 | 2 |
| Ouachita Baptist University | Arkadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Southern Arkansas University Main Campus | Magnolia | Public | 11 | 1 |
| University of Arkansas at Monticello | Monticello | Public | 8 | 1 |
| University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College | North Little Rock | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Central Baptist College | Conway | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| University of the Ozarks | Clarksville | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
What accountants and auditors earn in Arkansas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,680. Arkansas pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Arkansas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Accountants and Auditors page.
How to become a Accountant
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Arkansas
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Accountants and Auditors7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 43.0405Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- 52.0301Accounting
- 52.0303Auditing
- 52.0304Accounting and Finance
- 52.0305Accounting and Business/Management
- 52.1601Taxation
Common questions
Answers for people weighing accountants and auditors programs in Arkansas.
What degree do you need to become an Accountant?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Accounting, which awarded 604 degrees in Arkansas in 2024-25, 97.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Accountant?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Accounting and Related Services. Together they graduate about 621 people a year in Arkansas.
How much do accountants and auditors earn in Arkansas?+
The median is $66,330 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.7% below the U.S. median of $83,680. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for accountants and auditors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 124,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Arkansas?+
27 institutions in Arkansas reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do accountants and auditors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Auditor, Accountant, Financial Auditor, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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