Bookkeeper salary in the East Arkansas nonmetro area

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

Pay is more spread out here than nationally: the top tenth earns $58,350 or more, 2.3 times the bottom tenth, against 2.1 times across the US. Two offers for the same title can sit far apart. The middle half of bookkeepers in the East Arkansas nonmetro area earns $34,580–$48,540. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $13,960 wide, against $15,080 across Arkansas and $17,950 nationally: employers in the East Arkansas nonmetro area pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a bookkeeper here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $8,550 over the median, the 25th only $5,410 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $11,032 a year in employer cost. 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 $50,670 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in the East Arkansas nonmetro area, and the Arkansas statewide median of $42,840 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local bookkeepers earn.

What a hire really costs in the East Arkansas nonmetro area

At the $39,990 median, a local hire costs about $51,600 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $11,610 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 bookkeepers 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 East Arkansas nonmetro area

Of the 12 roles we track in the East Arkansas nonmetro area, this one ranks #7 by median pay, between sales development representatives ($45,640) and payroll specialists ($39,440). Project Coordinator is the highest at $66,540.

Measured against the US median, bookkeepers rank #3 of the 12 roles we track in the East Arkansas nonmetro area (-21.1%), between virtual receptionists (-17.9%) and medical administrative assistants (-23.0%). The typical role here is at -27.7%, so, measured against the US, bookkeepers cost more in the East Arkansas nonmetro area than the area's general pay level would suggest. Bookkeepers hold 14.7% of the jobs in these 12 roles in the East Arkansas nonmetro area, 12.3% across Arkansas and 9.3% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Arkansas

Across the 9 areas of Arkansas with data for this job, the median runs from $38,450 in Hot Springs to $45,830 in Fayetteville-Springdale, a gap of $7,380 a year. Of the 6 areas in Arkansas with more bookkeepers than the East Arkansas nonmetro area, 1 pays less: the North Arkansas nonmetro area ($39,160).

the East Arkansas nonmetro area against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, the East Arkansas nonmetro area is #393 of 521 US areas for this job. It is a small market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Arkansas, Hattiesburg and Gulfport-Biloxi pay just above the East Arkansas nonmetro area and Laredo and Lafayette just below. Of the three markets with about as many bookkeepers, two pay more.

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Sources

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