LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A recent study found that Arkansas is fourth in the nation for family back-to-school spending.
The study by consumer finance site Lending Tree examined typical back-to-school costs and compared them with the average monthly household income. This put Arkansas in fourth place, behind first-place Mississippi, followed by West Virginia and Louisiana.
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The flip side of the findings is that national back-to-school spending has remained fairly flat since pre-pandemic levels, the study found. In addition, lower spending on electronics in the 2026-27 school year was the primary reason the curve remained flat, according to the study’s authors.
The analysis used the National Retail Federation’s 2025 K-12 back-to-school spending projections, which found that families with children in elementary through high school expected to spend an average of $858.07. That total included $295.81 for electronics, $249.36 for clothing and accessories, $169.13 for shoes and $143.77 for school supplies.
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Household income, however, was what had the impact on rankings. Mississippi has an average monthly income of $4,927, per 2024 Census figures, the lowest of all the states. When held against the projected spending, it was the state where spending took the highest percent of income…