Cleveland, OH vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from Cleveland to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($252,210 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
Cleveland vs Fort Smith at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Cleveland, OH, you'd need about $93,338 in Fort Smith, AR (−$6,662).
Livability — Cleveland, OH: 71 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,270 sqft in Cleveland vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($153 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Cleveland, OH | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,532 | $12,252 | −$5,280 |
| Groceries | $4,830 | $4,657 | −$173 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,405 | +$380 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $1,524 | −$576 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,518 | $8,127 | −$1,391 |
| Total | $38,305 | $32,764 | −$5,541 |
Side by side
| Metric | Cleveland, OH | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.88% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.8% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $252,210 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.3% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $153 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,461 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.84% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 63.8 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 49% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |