Arkansas·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1244

Best Network programs in Arkansas, ranked by enrollment

Install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers.

28 schools in Arkansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,413 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,590 in Arkansas across about 1,750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNetwork AdministratorSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Information Technology Specialist (IT Specialist)Local Area Network Administrator (LAN Administrator)Network ManagerSoftware ManagerSystems OperatorSystems Specialist
Graduates / yr
1,413
in Arkansas
Median pay · Arkansas
$81,590
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,750
people employed
Schools
28
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
49%
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.

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.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0101In Arkansas
1,114
78.8%
21$57,986$24,286
2
CIP 11.1003In Arkansas
291
20.6%
21$48,185$25,250
3
CIP 11.1001In Arkansas
8
0.6%
1$48,185$25,250

Top 25 schools in Arkansas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 28 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Southern Arkansas University Main Campus
Magnolia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
564Computer and Information Sciences, General$26,67149%75%
2University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Little Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
139Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance42%59%
3Arkansas Tech University
Russellville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
115Computer and Information Sciences, General$45,90449%96%
4University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
87Computer and Information Sciences, General$57,91254%89%
5University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College
North Little Rock, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
68Computer and Information Sciences, General$32,26736%
6University of Arkansas Community College - Morrilton
Morrilton, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
65Computer and Information Sciences, General42%100%
7Southern Arkansas University Tech
Camden, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
44Computer and Information Sciences, General62%
8University of Arkansas Hope - Texarkana
Hope, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
40Computer and Information Sciences, General57%
9University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
37Computer and Information Sciences, General$59,85771%74%
10Black River Technical College
Pocahontas, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
28Computer and Information Sciences, General55%
11Arkansas State University Three Rivers
Malvern, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
26Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance26%
12Arkansas State University
Jonesboro, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
23Computer and Information Sciences, General$46,22755%82%
13University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
22Computer and Information Sciences, General40%41%
14Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas
Helena, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
20Computer and Information Sciences, General55%
15University of Arkansas Community College - Batesville
Batesville, AR Public · 3 feeder programs
20Network and System Administration/Administrator66%
16NorthWest Arkansas Community College
Bentonville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
14Computer and Information Sciences, General31%
17Northwest Technical Institute
Springdale, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
13Computer and Information Sciences, General74%
18Arkansas State University Mid - South
West Memphis, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Sciences, General58%
19Southeast Arkansas College
Pine Bluff, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance28%
20University of Arkansas Grantham
LIttle Rock, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance$86,60743%
21Arkansas Northeastern College
Blytheville, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
10Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance49%
22Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas
De Queen, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
9Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance54%
23National Park College
Hot Springs, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
9Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance35%
24Arkansas State University - Mountain Home
Mountain Home, AR Public · 2 feeder programs
7Computer and Information Sciences, General44%
25Henderson State University
Arkadelphia, AR Public · 1 feeder programs
7Computer and Information Sciences, General37%

All 28 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.

What network and computer systems administrators earn in Arkansas

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

Median annual in Arkansas
$81,590
Mean annual
$87,020
Jobs in state
1,750
What the range looks like
10th pct$52,190Median$81,59090th pct$131,140
Versus the national median
-17.7%

U.S. median $99,130. Arkansas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.66×

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

Metro areas in Arkansas

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
$86,530median
570 jobs
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
$83,090median
530 jobs
Jonesboro, AR
$81,370median
50 jobs
Hot Springs, AR
$87,420median
30 jobs
Fort Smith, AR-OK
$73,620median
110 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-4.2%
Decline
Openings per year
14,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-13,800
331,500 → 317,700
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 Network and Computer Systems Administrators page.

How to become a Network

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

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingWriting

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 3 majors mapped to Network and Computer Systems Administrators3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.1001Network and System Administration/Administrator
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing network and computer systems administrators programs in Arkansas.

What degree do you need to become a Network?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 1,114 degrees in Arkansas in 2024-25, 78.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Network?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. Together they graduate about 1,413 people a year in Arkansas.

How much do network and computer systems administrators earn in Arkansas?+

The median is $81,590 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.7% below the U.S. median of $99,130. 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 network and computer systems administrators growing?+

BLS projects a -4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 14,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

28 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 network and computer systems administrators work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Network Administrator, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin), Information Technology Specialist (IT Specialist), Local Area Network Administrator (LAN Administrator) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1244.

Network and Computer Systems Administrators in other statesTexasGeorgiaFloridaVirginiaUtahNew YorkMarylandCalifornia

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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