Arkansas Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown
Arkansas has 358,049 business records in Factur’s directory — the 35th-most of any U.S. state, or 0.6% of the national total. Little Rock leads its cities with 14.6% of the state’s records, Industrial & mechanical is the largest sector at 25.8%, and Arkansas ranks 35th for large employers (500+ employees).
Data as of July 2026. The figures come from Factur’s U.S. business directory, spanning 7 Arkansas cities and 6 industry sectors. They count records, not unique companies: one company can have more than one record (see the methodology). Every number links to the browsable list behind it. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite these figures with a link back to this page.
Key findings
- Arkansas ranks 35th nationally with 358,049 business records — 0.6% of all 64,799,929 U.S. records in the directory.
- A national-average share of large employers. Arkansas is 35th for records of companies with 500+ employees (498), with 13.9 per 10,000 records against 14.0 nationally (24th of 52 states).
- Arkansas has more food & beverage and healthcare & life science than the U.S. mix:Food & Beverage is 3.2% of the state’s records against 1.4% nationally (2.2×); Healthcare & Life Science is 8.5% of the state’s records against 7.4% nationally (1.2×).
- Little Rock is the state’s largest business hub, with 14.6% of all Arkansas records.
- Business is concentrated in a few metros: Little Rock, Fayetteville and Fort Smith together hold 23.0% of the state’s records.
How Arkansas ranks nationally
Arkansas and its closest neighbours by total business records. Select a state to open its own study.
Top Arkansas cities by number of business records
These 7 cities account for 34.3% of all records in Arkansas. Select any city to browse its full company list.
Arkansas businesses by industry
Every record is classified by its primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes; the shares are of all Arkansas records. Select a sector to see those Arkansas companies.
What sets Arkansas apart
Sectors that make up a bigger share of Arkansas’s records than of the U.S. as a whole. A ratio of 2.0× means the sector is twice as common here as nationally. Select a sector to browse it.
Arkansas businesses by size
Most records in every state are small businesses. In Arkansas, 1.56% of records with a known size have 51 or more employees, against 1.77% nationally. 136 records belong to companies with $1 billion or more in revenue.
| Employees | Records | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-50 | 349,231 | 98.44% | 98.23% |
| 51-200 | 4,093 | 1.15% | 1.37% |
| 201-1000 | 1,198 | 0.34% | 0.33% |
| 1001-5000 | 172 | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| 5001+ | 61 | 0.02% | 0.02% |
What the numbers show
Arkansas’s 358,049 records place it 35th nationally, 0.6% of the U.S. total, and 35th for large employers. Activity clusters in its largest metros — Little Rock, Fayetteville and Fort Smith alone account for 23.0% of the state’s records — and the state leans toward food & beverage and healthcare & life science compared with the rest of the country. For buyers and sellers, that means the deepest pools of suppliers sit in a handful of cities and sectors; the charts above link straight into each so you can shortlist by capability and region.
Frequently asked questions
How many businesses are in Arkansas?
Factur’s directory has 358,049 business records for Arkansas, the 35th-most of any U.S. state. That counts records rather than unique companies: a company can have more than one record, so the number of distinct businesses is lower.
How many large companies are in Arkansas?
498 Arkansas records belong to companies with 500 or more employees, 35th among U.S. states, or 13.9 per 10,000 records against 14.0 nationally. Large companies often have several records (one per department or location), so this overstates the number of distinct large employers.
Which Arkansas city has the most businesses?
Little Rock has the most, with 14.6% of the state’s records.
What is the largest industry in Arkansas?
Industrial & mechanical is the largest sector, at 25.8% of Arkansas records. Compared with the U.S. mix, Arkansas has proportionally more food & beverage and healthcare & life science.
Where does this data come from?
From Factur’s U.S. business directory as of July 2026, classified by city and by primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Every figure on this page links to the list behind it.
Cite this data
Free to use with attribution — please credit Factur and link back to this page.
Factur. (2026). Arkansas Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown. data.facturmfg.com. https://data.facturmfg.com/insights/arkansas<a href="https://data.facturmfg.com/insights/arkansas">Arkansas Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown</a> — data by FacturMethodology
Figures count records in Factur’s U.S. business directory as of July 2026, classified by city and primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Records cover manufacturers, suppliers and businesses of all sizes. They are not a count of unique companies: one company can have several records (for example one per department or location), and some records are duplicates. That affects large companies most, so treat raw totals as an upper bound and rely on the ranks, shares and comparisons, which it affects much less. These are directory totals, not official census figures. Percentages are computed against the Arkansas directory total; size shares use records with a known employee count. Data compiled by Factur, a sales and marketing firm for B2B manufacturers.
Looking for a specific industry in Arkansas? Browse the Arkansas directory → or contact us for a custom data pull.