Report shows Bentonville as most expensive city in Arkansas

Arkansas ranks 48th among the 50 states on the monthly cost of “essential household bills,” with Bentonville the most expensive city in Arkansas based on the essential bills. Of the 10 most expensive Arkansas cities, the top three are in Northwest Arkansas.

Such are the findings of a recent report from doxo, a Bellevue, Wash.-based bill payment company with more than 10 million users. According to doxo, the data comes from bill payments in 97% of U.S. zip codes and 45 bill pay service categories.

Doxo focuses on the estimated $3.35 trillion spent by households on the 10 most common household bills. The 10 common bills are: Mortgage, rent, auto loan, utilities (electric, gas, water & sewer, and waste & recycling), auto insurance, cable and internet, mobile phone, health insurance (consumer paid portion), alarm and security, and life insurance.

According to doxo, the average U.S. household spends $25,512 annually on the most essential household bills.

“This annual bill spend of roughly $2,126 per month takes up 34% of the U.S. household median income of $74,755. With many states ranking well above or below the national average, the 2024 State by State Bill Pay Report reveals Hawaii, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey are the most expensive states to live in, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky are the most affordable,” the report noted.

In Arkansas, the average household spent $1,762 per month on the 10 essential bills, or 37% of its annual household income. The amount was 17% below the national average. Hawaii ranked first with monthly household essential bill spending of $3,091, or 39% of the annual household income. West Virginia ranked 50th with $1,596 spent each month, or 35% of the annual household income.

Following are the top five most expensive monthly bills in Arkansas, according to doxo.
Mortgage: $1,022
Rent: $872
Auto loans: $459
Utilities: $343
Auto insurance: $181

The monthly spend in Bentonville, Arkansas’ most expensive city according to doxo, was $2,329. Following are the top five most expense monthly bills in Bentonville.
Mortgage: $1,666
Rent: $1,146
Auto loans: $426
Utilities: $336
Auto insurance: $206

Following are the top 10 cities in Arkansas based on total monthly cost of the 10 essential household bills.
Bentonville: $2,329
Bella Vista: $2,274
Centerton: $2,177
Cabot: $2,042
Little Rock: $2,048
Maumelle: $2,033
Wynne: $2,028
Forrest City: $2,016
North Little Rock: $1,999
Fayetteville: $1,977

Also in Northwest Arkansas, Rogers ranked 11th at $1,949, Lowell was 13th at $1,919, and Springdale was 18th at $1,880. In the Fort Smith metro, Alma was 20th at $1,866, and Greenwood was 21st at $1,858. Fort Smith, the anchor city of the metro, was not ranked in doxo’s top 25 Arkansas cities.