Detroit, MI vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from Detroit to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($269,080 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
Detroit 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 Detroit, MI, you'd need about $86,886 in Fort Smith, AR (−$13,114).
Livability — Detroit, MI: 62 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,066 sqft in Detroit vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($163 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Detroit, MI | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,000 | $12,252 | −$5,748 |
| Groceries | $4,896 | $4,657 | −$240 |
| Transportation | $4,575 | $3,405 | −$1,170 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,524 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $9,547 | $8,127 | −$1,420 |
| Total | $40,634 | $32,764 | −$7,870 |
Side by side
| Metric | Detroit, MI | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.60% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $269,080 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,500 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.43% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.61% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,700 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.4 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $74 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.3 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 45.0 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 53% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |