Arkansas Grocery Budget Calculator
$1,313/mo for 4 in Arkansas on the USDA Moderate-Cost plan ($3.60 per person per meal). No state tax on groceries; your city or county may add its own.
At Arkansas grocery prices, USDA's Moderate-Cost food plan for a family of four costs about $1,313 a month — about $303 a week, or $3.60 per person per meal. Arkansas charges no state tax on groceries (Act 1008 of 2025, the Grocery Tax Relief Act), but your city or county may add its own: enter that rate in the calculator, which starts at 0% and so shows $0 of tax on that basket until you do. $15,759 a year is 25.37% of Arkansas's $62,106 median household income. Official vs modeled: USDA does not publish a state-specific food-plan cost for Arkansas, so the Arkansas figure is StateCalc's model of USDA's national August 2026 figure at Arkansas's grocery prices.
Estimate only — these are not official figures
USDA's August 2026 national plan figures × Arkansas's C2ER grocery price index of 94.6; USDA publishes no Arkansas figure, so the result is modeled
Do not rely on these amounts for budgeting or payment. For exact amounts, check the USDA Cost of Food at Home reports for the national plan figures.
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Additional Details
Pre-filled: C2ER Cost of Living Index, Grocery component (via MERIC)
Monthly Grocery Budget
Estimated • Based on your inputs
Total Monthly Food Cost
$1,261.93
Food as % of Arkansas's Median Income
24.38%
Detailed Breakdown
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.
How This Calculator Works
Calculation methodology and assumptions
Arkansas inputs: grocery price index 94.6 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC), so USDA's August 2026 national plan figures are multiplied by 0.946 rather than by the overall cost-of-living index of 89. A family of 4 in Arkansas: Thrifty ~$968, Low-Cost ~$1,065, Moderate ~$1,313, Liberal ~$1,588 a month. Arkansas charges no state tax on groceries, but your city or county may add its own (Act 1008 of 2025, the Grocery Tax Relief Act). State grocery tax used here: 0%; add your city or county rate in the calculator's local-rate box, which starts at 0%. Food as a share of income divides by Arkansas's $62,106 median household income, and restaurant meals default to $16. Those are modeled figures; the USDA method every state shares is explained on the grocery budget hub.
Key State Information
Arkansas food cost context: grocery price index 94.6 (below the U.S. 100) | cost of living index 89 | State grocery tax rate: 0% (your local rate is not included) | median household income $62,106.
Example Calculation
Let's build a realistic grocery budget for a family in Arkansas.
Arkansas's grocery price index is 94.6 (C2ER Grocery component, Q2 2026, via MERIC; 100 = national average), which scales USDA's national Moderate-cost figure for a family of four to roughly $1,313/month here.
Result: Recommended monthly grocery budget in Arkansas: approximately $1,313. The Thrifty plan (about $968/month) is achievable with meal planning and cooking from scratch. Switching from the Liberal plan (~$1,588/month) down to Moderate saves roughly $3,300/year per family — mostly by cutting convenience foods and eating out less.
Worked example: groceries for a family of four in Arkansas
$1,388.20 (USDA Moderate-Cost, reference family of four, August 2026) × 0.9460 (Arkansas's C2ER grocery index, 94.6 in Q2 2026) = $1,313.24 a month, $15,758.88 a year.
Arkansas stopped taxing food and food ingredients at the state level on January 1, 2026; the act keeps them subject to city and county sales taxes, and prepared food stays taxable. This page models no local rate: type your city or county grocery rate into the calculator and it adds that tax to the basket.
| Household | Thrifty | Moderate-Cost | Liberal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $325 | $417 | $519 |
| 2 people | $596 | $764 | $952 |
| 3 people | $793 | $1,054 | $1,288 |
| 4 people | $968 | $1,313 | $1,588 |
| 5 people | $1,150 | $1,559 | $1,886 |
Act 1008 of 2025, the Grocery Tax Relief Act, read 2026-10-13 at arkleg.state.ar.us.
StateCalc Team
Editorial Team
The StateCalc team builds free financial calculators using data from official government sources including the IRS, U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, and state revenue departments. All formulas are validated by an automated test suite and cross-referenced against published data.
Our editorial standardsFrequently Asked Questions
How much should I spend on groceries in Arkansas?
On USDA's Moderate-Cost plan at Arkansas prices: about $1,313 a month for a family of 4, $764 for two adults and $417 for one adult. The Thrifty to Liberal range for 4 is Thrifty ~$968, Low-Cost ~$1,065, Moderate ~$1,313 to Liberal ~$1,588.
What is the average meal cost in Arkansas?
About $3.60 per person for a home-cooked meal: $1,313 a month ÷ 4 people ÷ 30.44 days ÷ 3 meals. Restaurant meals are separate; this page defaults them to $16.
What is the average weekly grocery bill in Arkansas?
About $303 a week for a family of four and $96 for one person (the monthly figures × 12 ÷ 52).
Are groceries taxed in Arkansas?
Not by the state (Act 1008 of 2025, the Grocery Tax Relief Act), but cities and counties may still tax groceries. The calculator's local-rate box starts at 0%, so the $1,313 family-of-4 basket shows $0 of tax until you enter your city or county rate.
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