Fort Smith, AR vs Austin, TX
Moving from Fort Smith to Austin? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $428,524 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Austin 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 Fort Smith, AR, you'd need about $115,197 in Austin, TX (+$15,197).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Austin, TX: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 2,450 sqft in Austin ($103 vs $204 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Austin, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $19,620 | +$7,368 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $4,647 | −$10 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,675 | +$270 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,836 | +$312 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,600 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $9,558 | +$1,432 |
| Total | $32,764 | $42,936 | +$10,171 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Austin, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 4.30% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 14.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $428,524 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -6.0% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $204 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,635 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | None |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 1.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 36.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 0.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |