Arkansas has an abundance of resources to help food processing companies succeed. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission works directly with food processing companies looking to start-up, expand or relocate. In addition, we assist companies with finding the best incentives so companies are able to make money quickly and efficiently.
There were 522 food and beverage companies in Arkansas at the end of 2022. These companies employed 55,130 people. Arkansas is home to Tyson Foods and numerous other food processing facilities, including Nestle, JBS USA, Kraft Heinz, Mars Inc., Cargill Inc., Hormel Foods Corp, Riceland Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, ConAgra Brands Inc., Land O’ Frost and Frito-Lay, Inc.
Arkansas has the 5th largest percentage of food processing workers in the United States. The growth rate of the food and beverage industry from 2017 to 2022 was 6 percent in Arkansas.
The food processing industry is booming in Arkansas and continues to grow exponentially. Eight of the top 10 food and beverage companies by revenue in the world have manufacturing facilities in the state.
Arkansas is meeting the workforce needs for food processing companies. The state now has the second-largest number of food processing workers in the US and Arkansas has responded to industry growth by modernizing the workforce.
Nationwide, there were nearly 10 times as many open computing jobs as there were computer science graduates in 2017. As more and more of the economy becomes embedded with technology, coding education must become more robust to help meet the demand for workers trained in the tech industry in Arkansas.
The vast majority of software developers in the United States work outside Silicon Valley, and technology jobs in Arkansas continue to become more plentiful. To stay ahead of the curve, Arkansas became the first state to mandate coding education in high schools, and it has seen a significant increase in the number of students graduating with a computer science degree in just five years.
Arkansas has the three things most needed to foster opportunities for technology businesses: an accelerated focus on coding literacy, growth in venture capital investments, and a low cost of living.
Check out our infographic to see how innovative education reform makes Arkansas a leader to watch in the technology and coding workforce.
