Which Arkansas accounting program has the lowest debt?

Southern Arkansas University reports the lowest median federal debt, $14,848, with first-year pay of $40,138.

How much do accounting graduates earn in Arkansas?

The median across 8 Arkansas accounting bachelor's programs is $54,115 in the first year after graduating and $66,718 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in Arkansas?

8 Arkansas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Bachelor's) Programs in Arkansas, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

8 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Arkansas accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $54,115 in their first year, $56 more than the national median. UA Little Rock reports the highest first-year pay ($58,845), and Southern Arkansas University the lowest median debt ($14,848).

Median first-year pay$54,115National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$66,718National $71,308

Median federal debt$25,615National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings44%National 45%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	UA Little RockLittle Rock · public	$58,845	$69,782	$25,316	43%
2	Harding UniversitySearcy · private nonprofit	$58,649	$87,632	$27,000	46%
3	Arkansas StateJonesboro · public	$58,152	$54,243	$21,351	37%
4	University of ArkansasFayetteville · public	$57,535	$85,915	$25,914	45%
5	University of Central ArkansasConway · public	$50,695	$68,389	$19,500	38%
6	University of Arkansas GranthamLIttle Rock · public	$48,931	Not reported	$46,108	94%
7	Southern Arkansas UniversityMagnolia · public	$40,138	Not reported	$14,848	37%
8	University of Arkansas at Pine BluffPine Bluff · public	$32,401	$37,991	$28,125	87%

Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas accounting program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$66,330

Median pay in Arkansas. 7,870 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,810Top 10%: $119,520

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$42,840

Median pay in Arkansas. 12,510 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $28,130Top 10%: $62,230

Financial Managers

$116,570

Median pay in Arkansas. 7,120 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $62,780Top 10%: $225,010

Financial and Investment Analysts

$81,110

Median pay in Arkansas. 1,390 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,850Top 10%: $137,210

Common questions

UA Little Rock in Little Rock reports the highest median first-year pay, $58,845. Its median federal debt is $25,316.

Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Arkansas rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024