Which Arkansas teacher education program has the lowest debt?

Southern Arkansas University reports the lowest median federal debt, $16,316, with first-year pay of $37,590.

How much do teacher education graduates earn in Arkansas?

The median across 11 Arkansas teacher education bachelor's programs is $39,795 in the first year after graduating and $42,666 five years after.

How many teacher education bachelor's programs are in Arkansas?

11 Arkansas programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

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

11 programs report first-year pay
10 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Arkansas teacher education bachelor's program pays its graduates $39,795 in their first year, $2,160 less than the national median. University of Arkansas reports the highest first-year pay ($47,428), and Southern Arkansas University the lowest median debt ($16,316).

Median first-year pay$39,795National $41,955

Median pay after 5 years$42,666National $46,679

Median federal debt$24,801National $26,075

Debt-to-earnings61%National 61%

All 11 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	University of ArkansasFayetteville · public	$47,428	$48,313	$26,141	55%
2	John Brown UniversitySiloam Springs · private nonprofit	$42,496	$44,600	Not reported	Not reported
3	Harding UniversitySearcy · private nonprofit	$42,251	$47,527	$27,639	65%
4	Ouachita Baptist UniversityArkadelphia · private nonprofit	$41,595	$45,473	$27,000	65%
5	University of Arkansas-Fort SmithFort Smith · public	$40,565	$42,085	$20,304	50%
6	University of Central ArkansasConway · public	$39,795	$43,267	$25,250	63%
7	UA Little RockLittle Rock · public	$38,936	$43,247	$22,500	58%
8	Southern Arkansas UniversityMagnolia · public	$37,590	$40,746	$16,316	43%
9	Arkansas Tech UniversityRussellville · public	$37,244	$39,595	$24,351	65%
10	Arkansas StateJonesboro · public	$36,847	$40,839	$21,424	58%
11	Henderson StateArkadelphia · public	$36,511	$40,669	$27,000	74%

John Brown University reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas teacher education 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 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

University of Arkansas$47,428
John Brown University$42,496
Harding University$42,251
Ouachita Baptist University$41,595
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith$40,565

Lowest median debt

Southern Arkansas University$16,316
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith$20,304
Arkansas State$21,424
UA Little Rock$22,500
Arkansas Tech University$24,351

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 teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

$52,700

Median pay in Arkansas. 12,590 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,380Top 10%: $63,120

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$59,660

Median pay in Arkansas. 12,890 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,430Top 10%: $75,760

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$59,570

Median pay in Arkansas. 6,140 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,780Top 10%: $74,100

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$34,190

Median pay in Arkansas. 3,270 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $27,190Top 10%: $56,690

Common questions

University of Arkansas in Fayetteville reports the highest median first-year pay, $47,428. Its median federal debt is $26,141.

Teacher Education (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked655 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 teacher education 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