Malvern, Arkansas Cost Of Living

A+

15%

Overall NAT. AVG.

11%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

52%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Malvern	Arkansas	National
Cost of living	85	87	100
Goods & Services	111	102	100
Groceries	94	93	100
Health care	92	85	100
Housing	48	65	100
Transportation	81	92	100
Utilities	97	92	100

New Real Estate Listings in Malvern Area

For Sale For Rent

Search

Search Homes for Sale in Malvern, AR

See How Much House You Can Afford. Get Pre-Approved Today

Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Malvern is 3% lower than the Arkansas average
The cost of living in Malvern is 15% lower than the national average
Malvern housing is 52% lower than the national average
Arkansas general sales tax is 27% higher than the national average
Arkansas state income tax is 11% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Malvern

See all the best places to live around Malvern

Compare Malvern, AR Cost of Living

Write a review to give others more information about this area.

See all Malvern poll results

The best places in Arkansas

Here are the best places to live in Arkansas

See the best places to live in & around Malvern

Top 10 cities in Arkansas with the best education system

10 best cities to buy a new house in Arkansas

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$38,863	$3,239	$907	$1,166
Renters	$16,687	$1,391	$389	$501

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Malvern is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Malvern has a median income of about $38,863 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $907 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $16,687. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $389 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Arkansas Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Arkansas	6.5%	11.625%

Arkansas Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Arkansas	2%	5.5%

Goods & Services

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.24	$20.27	24.8%
Beauty Salon	$38.30	$40.39	5.2%
Toothpaste	$2.74	$2.36	16.2%
Shampoo	$1.20	$1.08	11.1%
Movie	$10.00	$10.99	9.0%
Bowling	$14.69	$15.49	5.2%

Groceries

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.94	$4.30	8.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.09	$1.40	22.3%
Milk	$1.89	$2.20	14.0%
Potatoes	$2.71	$3.22	15.7%
Pizza	$14.97	$10.74	39.3%
Beer	$12.67	$9.60	32.0%

Health Care

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$151.54	$109.73	38.1%
Doctor	$93.87	$118.34	20.7%
Dentist	$78.04	$100.94	22.7%
Ibuprofen	$10.49	$9.93	5.6%
Lipitor	$479.89	$469.53	2.2%

Housing

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$73,400.00	$184,700.00	60.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,233.79	$1,229.62	0.3%
Apartment Rent	$649.00	$949.00	31.6%

Transportation

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.45	$2.71	9.5%
Tire Balancing	$33.97	$51.86	34.5%

Utilities

Item	Malvern	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$152.49	$170.84	10.7%
Phone	$200.87	$187.18	7.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Donaldson, AR	334	81	19.2%
Leola, AR	533	82	18.5%
Perla, AR	275	82	17.8%
Poyen, AR	347	84	16.4%
Friendship, AR	186	85	15.1%
Malvern, AR	10,937	85	15.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Fairfield, AL	10,937	87	13.1%
Ogdensburg, NY	10,937	89	10.8%
Suffern, NY	10,936	125	24.7%
Brooklyn, OH	10,936	87	13.0%
Broomall, PA	10,935	124	23.9%
Malvern, AR	10,937	85	15.0%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.