Arkansas travel nurse pay 2026: $83,626, compact state
Last reviewed: by Jayson Minagawa, BSN, RN
What travel nurses earn in Arkansas
Travel RN contracts in Arkansas post an average base of $83,626 annualised — 17% below the national travel average of $101,132, and 3rd-lowest in the country.
Posted base, not take-home: stipend calculator · pay calculator.
How Arkansas compares for staff work
Staff RNs in Arkansas average $81,520, 5th-lowest in the country, against a $83,626 posted travel base — so the travel premium here is intact. Arkansas salary guide.
Licensing for a Arkansas assignment
Arkansas is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. A multistate license from your primary state of residence starts a Arkansas assignment with no separate application, which is why Arkansas can take a contract beginning in two weeks. Without one, endorsement is the route. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing charges $100 and quotes 4–6 weeks.
Tax, stipends and your tax home
Arkansas income tax: graduated to 4.7%, charged on wages earned in Arkansas wherever your tax home is — so compare a Arkansas contract on net, and check reciprocity if you are working near the Arkansas state line.
Stipend rules are federal: tax home guide.
Where the contracts are
Arkansas's travel markets are Little Rock, Fayetteville. Regional price parity is 86.9 against a national 100, so Arkansas costs run 13.1% below average, and its GSA-linked stipends move with it.
What drives Arkansas demand
Among the lowest nursing wages nationally; rural hospital closures and small CRNA labor market produce volatile estimates.
Ratio law: Arkansas has no statutory nurse-to-patient ratios, so staffing levels are set by each hospital rather than by statute. For a traveller that cuts both ways: there is no legal floor on the assignment you can be given, so the ratio you are quoted at interview is worth getting in writing, and it is worth asking what the unit runs at on nights and weekends rather than what the daytime policy says.
Timing a Arkansas contract
What moves Arkansas rates: negotiation cycles at the systems in Little Rock, Fayetteville, and any stretch where one is short in a specialty. Crisis work runs well above Arkansas's $83,626 posted average. Seasonality is national: travel nursing guide.
Before you sign a Arkansas contract
Get the Arkansas license cost, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms in writing. Red flags.
Common questions
How much do travel nurses make in Arkansas?
About $83,626 annualised posted base, 17% below the national $101,132 and 49th of 51.
Do I need a Arkansas license to travel there?
No — a multistate compact license covers Arkansas.
Are Arkansas travel stipends tax-free?
Only with a real tax home you are away from. See the tax guide.
Travel nursing in states bordering Arkansas
Missouri · Tennessee · Mississippi · Louisiana · Texas · Oklahoma.
Related Arkansas guides
Arkansas RN salary · Arkansas licensure · travel nursing quick start · agency comparison.