Quick answer: Arkansas employs about 80 marriage and family therapists (BLS OEWS, May 2025), and licensing runs through your state board for marriage and family therapy. Programs, the careers this degree opens, and what they pay are below.
Compare marriage and family therapy programs enrolling now:
Licensing and Credentials in Arkansas
Marriage and family therapists are licensed state by state. The national framework is a master’s degree, a period of supervised postgraduate clinical hours, and the national MFT examination administered through AMFTRB. The recognized programmatic accreditor is COAMFTE. How many supervised hours a state requires, and what supervision qualifies, differ meaningfully between them.
Requirements are set at state level and are amended periodically. Before you enroll in any program, confirm with your state board for marriage and family therapy that the specific program you are considering satisfies the education requirement, and ask what it accepts from any training you have already completed. Get the answer in writing.
Earning the Degree While You Work
Most people reading this already have a job in the field, and the practical question is whether the credential can be earned without leaving it. Programs designed for working adults deliver the academic portion online or in the evening, while any labs, clinical hours or supervised field experience happen in person and locally. Prior college credit, military training, apprenticeship coursework and industry certifications can all shorten the path, so request a written transfer credit evaluation before you commit to any school.
Schools Near You
Schools in our database near this area, ranked by BOC Score. The list favors schools with a related program on record, but program availability and delivery format change, so confirm directly with any school that it currently offers the program you want.
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 1 school
within 49 miles, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
1 of them carries a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
What Marriage and Family Therapists Earn in Arkansas
Marriage and Family Therapists in Arkansas earn a median $64,340 per year, below the national median of $66,940 (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Marriage and Family Therapy Pay and Employment in Arkansas at a Glance
Metric
Arkansas
National
Source
Median annual wage
$64,340
$66,940
BLS OEWS, May 2025
10th percentile
$47,520
$44,650
BLS OEWS, May 2025
25th percentile
$57,440
$50,070
BLS OEWS, May 2025
75th percentile
$75,230
$93,840
BLS OEWS, May 2025
90th percentile
$90,900
$123,730
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment
80
66,740
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Location quotient
0.15
1.00
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
not published by state
12.6%
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
How Arkansas Pay Compares to the Rest of the Country
The Arkansas median of $64,340 sits below the national median of $66,940 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Percentiles matter more than the midpoint when you are deciding whether a degree pays for itself: the 10th percentile is roughly where people start, and the 90th is what the top of the local market looks like after years of experience.
A location quotient of 0.15 puts Arkansas below the national average, so the occupation is less concentrated here than in the typical state. Expect a thinner local job market and fewer employers to move between (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The measure compares how concentrated the occupation is here against the national average of 1.00.
Wage and employment figures describe the occupation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not the graduates of any particular program, and individual outcomes may vary. Licensing rules change; confirm current requirements with the responsible state board before enrolling.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do marriage and family therapists make in Arkansas?
The median annual wage for marriage and family therapists in Arkansas is $64,340, below the national median of $66,940 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle of the range runs from $57,440 at the 25th percentile to $75,230 at the 75th.
How many marriage and family therapists work in Arkansas?
Arkansas holds about 80 marriage and family therapist jobs (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Nationally the occupation employs 66,740, and BLS projects about 7,700 openings per year through 2034 (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
Do I need a license to work as a marriage and family therapist in Arkansas?
Marriage and family therapists are licensed state by state. The national framework is a master's degree, a period of supervised postgraduate clinical hours, and the national MFT examination administered through AMFTRB. The recognized programmatic accreditor is COAMFTE. How many supervised hours a state requires, and what supervision qualifies, differ meaningfully between them. Requirements are set at the state level and change periodically, so confirm the current rules with your state board for marriage and family therapy before you enroll in any program.
Can I earn a COAMFTE-accredited master's degree online while working in Arkansas?
Often yes. Programs built for working adults deliver coursework online or in the evenings, though any required labs, clinical hours or supervised field experience are completed in person. Confirm that the program's accreditation satisfies your state board for marriage and family therapy.
What is the highest-paying area of Arkansas for marriage and family therapists?
BLS does not publish separate metro-level estimates for marriage and family therapists in Arkansas, so the statewide median of $64,340 is the best available figure (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Is Arkansas a good state for marriage and family therapists?
On pay, the state median of $64,340 sits below the national $66,940 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A location quotient of 0.15 means the occupation is less concentrated here than in the average state. Weigh that against cost of living and how concentrated the work is near where you actually want to live.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - Marriage and Family Therapists (SOC 21-1013), national, state and metropolitan estimates
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook - education and licensing requirements
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
