Fort Smith, AR vs Charlotte, NC
Moving from Fort Smith to Charlotte? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $390,321 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Charlotte 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 $114,080 in Charlotte, NC (+$14,080).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Charlotte, NC: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 2,561 sqft in Charlotte ($103 vs $195 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Charlotte, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $20,880 | +$8,628 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $4,834 | +$177 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,130 | −$275 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,752 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,000 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $8,740 | +$614 |
| Total | $32,764 | $41,336 | +$8,572 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Charlotte, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 4.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 10.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $390,321 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.1× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $195 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,740 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |