Administrative Assistant salary in the North Arkansas nonmetro area

Pay in the North Arkansas nonmetro area against Arkansas and the US

The middle half of administrative assistants in the North Arkansas nonmetro area earns $30,170–$40,040. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $48,880, only 1.7 times the bottom tenth, against 2.0 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $9,870 wide, against $14,490 across Arkansas and $19,170 nationally: employers in the North Arkansas nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an administrative assistant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $4,070 a year in pay and about $5,252 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $5,800 in pay. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $47,540 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in the North Arkansas nonmetro area, and the Arkansas statewide median of $37,630 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local administrative assistants earn.

What a hire really costs in the North Arkansas nonmetro area

At the $35,970 median, a local hire costs about $46,413 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $10,443 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for administrative assistants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in the North Arkansas nonmetro area

Of the 17 roles we track in the North Arkansas nonmetro area, this one ranks #14 by median pay, between customer support specialists ($37,030) and data entry specialists ($35,890). Project Coordinator is the highest at $73,220.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #8 of the 17 roles we track in the North Arkansas nonmetro area (-24.3%), between medical administrative assistants (-23.8%) and HR assistants (-24.9%). The typical role here is at -24.9%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Administrative assistants hold 10.6% of the jobs in these 17 roles in the North Arkansas nonmetro area, 8.0% across Arkansas and 10.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Arkansas

Across the 9 areas of Arkansas with data for this job, the median runs from $34,250 in the East Arkansas nonmetro area to $41,550 in Fayetteville-Springdale, a gap of $7,300 a year. Of the 3 areas in Arkansas with more administrative assistants than the North Arkansas nonmetro area, 1 pays less: the South Arkansas nonmetro area ($35,520).

the North Arkansas nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the North Arkansas nonmetro area is #356 of 520 US areas for this job. It is a mid-sized market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Arkansas, Athens-Clarke County and Valdosta pay just above the North Arkansas nonmetro area and Alexandria and Hammond just below. All four are within $280 a year of the median in the North Arkansas nonmetro area. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, all three pay more.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.