Arkansas energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Arkansas

Arkansas plants pay 6.2 cents per kWh for industrial power as of Apr 2026, which puts the state 28.4% under the national average and 3 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in Arkansas

  • Industrial electricity: 6.2 cents per kWh (Apr 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Arkansas typically pays: 11.04 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 9.28 per Mcf (Apr 2026), 89.4% above the national average.
  • Just below Arkansas on the price ladder: Oklahoma at 5.86, Montana at 5.99 cents. Just above: Iowa at 6.26, New Mexico at 6.27, Texas at 6.33 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 2,480 in electricity at Arkansas rates versus 3,464 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 12,400 versus 17,320, and at 200 kW it is 49,600 versus 69,280.
  • For site selection and quoting, Arkansas sits on the favorable side of the power map. Processes that live or die on electricity cost, from electrolysis to induction heating, price out better here than in most states.

What factory labor pays in Arkansas

  • Industrial production managers: $56.79/hr median in Arkansas versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $47.31/hr median in Arkansas versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $30.33/hr median in Arkansas versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $28.73/hr median in Arkansas versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $27.33/hr median in Arkansas versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $24.59/hr median in Arkansas versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Arkansas employs about 159,000 manufacturing workers as of May 2026 (BLS).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's Arkansas observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.