Statewide pay Government data
Auto body repairers in Arkansas earn a statewide median of $49,310 a year, 5% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #38 of 50 states and DC. About 1,140 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near Arkansas
See all states on the auto body repairer overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes auto body repairer pay for 5 Arkansas metros. The highest-paying is Fayetteville at $55,960, followed by Little Rock and Hot Springs.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| FayettevilleARKANSAS · AR | $55,960 | $61,257 | 240 |
| Little RockARKANSAS · AR | $54,560 | $61,054 | 290 |
| Hot SpringsARKANSAS · AR | $49,510 | $57,751 | 50 |
| JonesboroARKANSAS · AR | $48,920 | $56,966 | 80 |
| Fort SmithARKANSAS · AR | $46,530 | $54,175 | 70 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for Arkansas's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Repair and refinish automotive vehicle bodies and straighten vehicle frames.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,600 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, auto body repairers have 60 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 31% below the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often auto body repairers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Where to train in Arkansas Government data
22 schools in Arkansas offer vehicle maintenance and repair programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $36,663 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State University-Beebe Beebe, AR · Public | Certificate | $17,053 | 144 | — |
| National Park College Hot Springs, AR · Public | Certificate | $16,085 | 137 | $36,296 |
| Arkansas State University Mid-South West Memphis, AR · Public | Certificate | $13,694 | 92 | — |
| University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College North Little Rock, AR · Public | Certificate | $17,913 | 75 | $36,663 |
| Black River Technical College Pocahontas, AR · Public | Certificate | $13,878 | 71 | — |
| Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR · Public | Certificate | $22,295 | 69 | — |
| South Arkansas College El Dorado, AR · Public | Certificate | $13,552 | 53 | — |
| University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR · Public | Certificate | $20,164 | 49 | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in Arkansas Official source
The main state licensing office in Arkansas is the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing. Home of the Contractors Licensing Board; some trades are licensed by other state agencies. It can point you to the right license for auto body repairers.
Official Arkansas licensing site ↗
Requirements for auto body repairers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 2.8% of wage and salary workers in Arkansas were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#48 of 51 states and D.C.), and 3.5% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only auto body repairers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in Arkansas
All trades in Arkansas.