Arkansas·Business and Financial Operations Occupations·SOC 13-1141

Best Compensation programs in Arkansas, ranked by enrollment

Conduct programs of compensation and benefits and job analysis for employer.

33 schools in Arkansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,687 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,280 in Arkansas across about 490 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledBenefits AnalystBenefits SpecialistCompensation AnalystCompensation SpecialistJob AnalystWage AnalystWage AdjusterWage Conciliator
Graduates / yr
2,687
in Arkansas
Median pay · Arkansas
$61,280
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
490
people employed
Schools
33
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
$19,423
per year, IPEDS

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.

4 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.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 52.0201In Arkansas
2,007
74.7%
33$43,506$25,000
2
CIP 52.0801In Arkansas
654
24.3%
12$53,572$23,672
3
CIP 52.1001In Arkansas
15
0.6%
4$49,084$26,536
4
CIP 52.1701In Arkansas
11
0.4%
1$56,988$22,500

Top 25 schools in Arkansas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 14 of the 33 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR Public · 3 feeder programs
710Finance, General$56,38771%74%
2Arkansas Tech University
Russellville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
661Business Administration and Management, General$39,86649%96%
3Arkansas State University
Jonesboro, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
222Business Administration and Management, General$36,00755%82%
4University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR Public · 3 feeder programs
137Business Administration and Management, General$38,99554%89%
5University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Little Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
132Business Administration and Management, General$39,02242%59%
6University of Arkansas - Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR Public · 3 feeder programs
127Business Administration and Management, General$39,05738%80%
7NorthWest Arkansas Community College
Bentonville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
101Business Administration and Management, General31%
8University of Arkansas at Monticello
Monticello, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
71Business Administration and Management, General49%
9Harding University
Searcy, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
65Business Administration and Management, General$40,08169%$19,42371%
10Ouachita Baptist University
Arkadelphia, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
48Finance, General$53,19561%$21,32268%
11Southern Arkansas University Main Campus
Magnolia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
46Business Administration and Management, General49%75%
12John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
41Business Administration and Management, General$54,98272%$20,32576%
13University of Arkansas Grantham
LIttle Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
38Business Administration and Management, General$59,00943%
14Arkansas State University Mid - South
West Memphis, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
37Business Administration and Management, General58%
15Philander Smith University
Little Rock, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
33Business Administration and Management, General$27,41330%$16,387
16University of the Ozarks
Clarksville, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
32Business Administration and Management, General$35,37351%$13,60860%
17University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
26Business Administration and Management, General$35,49040%41%
18Williams Baptist University
Walnut Ridge, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
22Finance, General26%$16,44383%
19Central Baptist College
Conway, AR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Business Administration and Management, General34%$16,72863%
20National Park College
Hot Springs, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
18Business Administration and Management, General35%
21Arkansas State University - Mountain Home
Mountain Home, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
15Business Administration and Management, General44%
22Southern Arkansas University Tech
Camden, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
15Business Administration and Management, General62%
23University of Arkansas - East Arkansas Community College
Forrest City, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
14Business Administration and Management, General51%
24University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College
North Little Rock, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
13Business Administration and Management, General$30,42936%
25Lyon College
Batesville, AR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Business Administration and Management, General47%$22,19963%

All 33 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.

All schools in Arkansas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of ArkansasFayettevillePublic7103
Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellvillePublic6612
Arkansas State UniversityJonesboroPublic2222
University of Central ArkansasConwayPublic1373
University of Arkansas at Little RockLittle RockPublic1322
University of Arkansas - Fort SmithFort SmithPublic1273
NorthWest Arkansas Community CollegeBentonvillePublic1011
University of Arkansas at MonticelloMonticelloPublic711
Harding UniversitySearcyPrivate not-for-profit652
Ouachita Baptist UniversityArkadelphiaPrivate not-for-profit482
Southern Arkansas University Main CampusMagnoliaPublic461
John Brown UniversitySiloam SpringsPrivate not-for-profit412
University of Arkansas GranthamLIttle RockPublic382
Arkansas State University Mid - SouthWest MemphisPublic371
Philander Smith UniversityLittle RockPrivate not-for-profit331

What compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists earn in Arkansas

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Arkansas
$61,280
Mean annual
$69,360
Jobs in state
490
What the range looks like
10th pct$40,830Median$61,28090th pct$106,780
Versus the national median
-21.6%

U.S. median $78,210. Arkansas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.52×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Arkansas

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
$83,480median
150 jobs
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
$53,840median
220 jobs
Fort Smith, AR-OK
$58,450median
30 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.3%
Faster than average
Openings per year
8,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,600
107,000 → 112,700
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists page.

How to become a Compensation

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

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

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingActive LearningWriting

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 4 majors mapped to Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 52.0201Business Administration and Management, General
  • 52.0801Finance, General
  • 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
  • 52.1701Insurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists programs in Arkansas.

What degree do you need to become a Compensation?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Business Administration and Management, General, which awarded 2,007 degrees in Arkansas in 2024-25, 74.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Compensation?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Administration, Finance and Financial Management Services, Human Resources Management and Services, Insurance. Together they graduate about 2,687 people a year in Arkansas.

How much do compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists earn in Arkansas?+

The median is $61,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.6% below the U.S. median of $78,210. 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 compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists growing?+

BLS projects a +5.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 8,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Arkansas?+

33 institutions in Arkansas reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Benefits Analyst, Benefits Specialist, Compensation Analyst, Compensation Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1141.

Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists in other statesCaliforniaTexasArizonaFloridaNew YorkNorth CarolinaNew HampshireIndiana

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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