Dental Assistant Salary in Arkansas: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$36,790
Median (50th)
$42,830
75th percentile
$46,730
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in Arkansas?
The median dental assistant in Arkansas earns $42,830 a year ($20.59 an hour), which is $5,240 below the national median of $48,070, but less than in nearby Tennessee ($46,720), Missouri ($45,970) and Oklahoma ($45,740). The mean is $42,130.
That ranks 46th of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in Arkansas
The middle half of Arkansas dental assistants earn $36,790 to $46,730. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $35,060, $2,070 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $48,330, $13,920 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in Arkansas
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Arkansas's 2024 price level at 86.9 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 13.1% below the national average, and housing (index 58.2) runs 41.8% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $42,830 median is worth about $49,270 — $1,200 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in Arkansas
BLS counts about 2,950 dental assistant jobs in Arkansas, 0.8% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.26 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 9% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.91).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in Arkansas
Across the 5 Arkansas metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $36,720 in Jonesboro to $47,050 in Fayetteville, a spread of $10,330.
All dental roles by metro: Hot Springs · Jonesboro · Little Rock
Who's hiring dental assistants in Arkansas now
DentistryHires has 27 open dental assistant listings in Arkansas from 15 employers, the most of them in Fayetteville (4).
7 post hourly pay, from $15 to $30 an hour. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in Arkansas
Dental assistant practice in Arkansas is regulated by the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners.
Scope of practice — what a dental assistant may do, and under what level of supervision — is set by state law and changes over time, so verify current rules with the board before relying on them.
How Arkansas Compares
Other dental salaries in Arkansas
- Dentist salary in Arkansas: median $178,930, $136,100 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in Arkansas: median $86,760, $43,930 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in Arkansas: median $49,960, $7,130 above the dental assistant median
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national estimates, all industries); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024. Price-adjusted pay divides the median by the price level. Listing counts and posted pay are live DentistryHires listings, refreshed hourly. A dash means BLS did not publish that figure; nothing is estimated.