Fort Smith, AR vs Boston, MA
Moving from Fort Smith to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Boston 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 $129,401 in Boston, MA (+$29,401).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($103 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $38,532 | +$26,280 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $5,040 | +$383 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,210 | −$195 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $3,180 | +$1,656 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,800 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $17,694 | +$9,567 |
| Total | $32,764 | $69,455 | +$36,691 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |