Agriculture Rankings

• #1 in rice production
• #2 in food grains
• #3 in poultry and eggs
• #3 in broilers
• #3 in catfish (food size)
• #3 in cotton, cotton lint, and cottonseed
• #3 in turkeys
• #7 in peanuts
• #10 in soybeans

Workforce

• 8 of the top 10 food and beverage companies by revenue in the world have manufacturing facilities in the state.
• Arkansas has the 5th largest percentage of food processing workers in the U.S.
• 476 companies employ 55,616 Arkansans in the food and beverage industry at the end of 2023.
• The state offers a wide range of education and training programs for food and beverage industry professional development.

Industry by the Numbers

• Between 2015 and 2022, there have been 111 economic development projects in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, with 6,794 new jobs and $2.9 billion of proposed investments.
• The growth rate of the food and beverage industry from 2017 to 2022 was 6 percent in Arkansas.
• 12th highest number of food manufacturing workers in the US (BLS, 2022) 

Business Climate

• #2 on Cost of Living Index (C2er, 2023) 
• #3 for Food Processing
• #7 for Highest Manufacturing Employment in U.S. by Percentage of Workforce (Business Facilities)
• #8 for Overall Cost of Doing Business (Area Development)

“We are grateful for the help and support that we received from the city of Arkadelphia and the Arkadelphia Alliance, Clark County, the state of Arkansas and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the partnerships we have entered into with these entities. We look forward to welcoming new team members to our newest bakery when it becomes operational in 2023 and to becoming a part of the Arkadelphia community.”

Andy Callahan

President & CEO, Hostess Brands

“We’re excited to expand our presence in Arkansas. This facility was built with state-of-the-art automation to support production and the supply chain for one of North America’s leading branded food companies.  We continue to innovate to provide best-in-class service for our customers as we help them feed the world.”

George Chappelle

CEO, Americold

“Cypress Cold Storage is thrilled to bring this best-in-class facility to the Springdale market and continue expanding our presence in Northwest Arkansas. We look forward to providing customers with top-tier solutions and bringing even more career opportunities to the local community.” 

Tony Nichols

CEO, Cypress Cold Storage