Living in Fort Smith, AR
Small city in Arkansas
Fort Smith is a small city in Arkansas, home to about 89,000 people, with 198,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, a car is essential. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Fort Smith a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $208k and rents for $1,270 a month
- Low taxes: about $902 state income tax per resident, 0.67% property tax
- Low natural disaster risk: 6 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Strong healthcare: 2 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
👎 Cons
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Smaller job market: about 198,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer graduates: 25% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Fort Smith ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Fort Smith: common questions
What is the cost of living in Fort Smith?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $208k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,270 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 86, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Fort Smith?
Arkansas collects about $902 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.67% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Fort Smith safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (2.6× in FBI 2019 data).
What is the weather like in Fort Smith?
Fort Smith has cool winters: winter days average around 54°F and summer days around 92°F, with roughly 3″ of snow a year.
Does Fort Smith get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding, tornadoes and heat waves: 6 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.4 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Fort Smith?
The nearest major airport is TUL, about 103 mi away.
How Fort Smith scores
Each bar compares Fort Smith with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Is Fort Smith right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.