Cost of living comparison
compared to
Arkansas vs. New Mexico Cost of Living Summary
Arkansas is 11.7% cheaper than New Mexico.
Arkansas vs. New Mexico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Arkansas instead of New Mexico, you would:
pay 9.3% more for restaurants
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.92
|
$19.21
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.39
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.63
|
$2.45
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$1.96
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.8% less for groceries
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.47
|
$3.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.08
|
$4.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.61
|
$3.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$3.80
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.63
|
$4.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.10
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.61
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.72
|
$1.51
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$1.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.68
|
$0.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.15
|
$1.04
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of groceries
pay 1.3% more for transportation
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.78
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$24.33
|
$34.25
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,844.00
|
$30,844.82
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.93
|
$13.69
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of transportation
pay 19.9% less for housing
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$79.39
|
$68.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,492.80
|
$1,137.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,291.68
|
$939.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.99
|
$171.51
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of housing
pay 18.4% less for childcare
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,273.60
|
$965.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,305.17
|
$17,854.64
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of childcare
pay 13.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.04
|
$5.43
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.25
|
$5.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.53
|
$8.74
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.06
|
$35.81
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.18
|
$12.50
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.7% more for clothing
|
New Mexico
|
Arkansas
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.15
|
$51.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.98
|
$38.89
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.23
|
$83.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.28
|
$112.18
|
|
New Mexico vs. Arkansas - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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