Van Buren, Arkansas Cost Of Living

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Overall 18%

Goods & Services 9%

Housing 37%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; 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	Van Buren	Arkansas	National
Cost of living	82	84	100
Goods & Services	91	95	100
Groceries	91	90	100
Health care	82	86	100
Housing	63	65	100
Transportation	91	83	100
Utilities	91	91	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Van Buren is 2% lower than the Arkansas average
The cost of living in Van Buren is 18% lower than the national average
Van Buren housing is 37% lower than the national average
Arkansas general sales tax is 28% higher than the national average
Arkansas state income tax is 19% lower than the national average

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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	$48,902	$4,075	$1,141	$1,467
Renters	$26,974	$2,248	$629	$809

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in Van Buren, AR, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In Van Buren, the median monthly income is $48,902 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,141 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $26,974, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $629 on monthly rental expenses.

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%	6.6%

Goods & Services

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$17.98	$17.49	2.8%
Beauty Salon	$32.46	$38.17	15.0%
Toothpaste	$1.49	$2.32	35.8%
Shampoo	$0.78	$1.01	22.9%
Movie	$10.00	$10.72	6.8%
Bowling	$17.50	$13.86	26.3%

Groceries

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.55	$3.90	9.0%
Fried Chicken	$1.06	$1.40	24.1%
Milk	$1.08	$1.96	45.0%
Potatoes	$2.88	$3.18	9.5%
Pizza	$8.00	$10.39	23.0%
Beer	$8.47	$9.23	8.2%

Health Care

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$67.50	$106.34	36.5%
Doctor	$82.50	$115.25	28.4%
Dentist	$82.50	$98.38	16.1%
Ibuprofen	$7.97	$9.26	13.9%
Lipitor	$454.00	$466.47	2.7%

Housing

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$112,200.00	$184,700.00	39.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$954.88	$1,273.32	25.0%
Apartment Rent	$657.00	$949.00	30.8%

Transportation

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.38	$2.59	8.0%
Tire Balancing	$45.00	$48.90	8.0%

Utilities

Item	Van Buren	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$134.44	$167.60	19.8%
Phone	$190.30	$163.42	16.4%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Moffett, OK	140	73	-27%
Nicut, OK	320	75	-25%
Arkoma, OK	1,912	76	-24%
Fort Coffee, OK	532	73	-27%
Mountainburg, AR	614	77	-23%
Van Buren, AR	23,155	82	-18%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Ewa Gentry, HI	23,168	171	71%
Washington, UT	23,141	108	8%
Bay Point, CA	23,131	125	25%
Landover, MD	23,124	113	13%
Brandon, MS	23,186	94	-6%
Van Buren, AR	23,155	82	-18%

Source: The Van Buren, AR cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.