Fort Smith, AR vs Dallas, TX
Moving from Fort Smith to Dallas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $366,823 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Dallas 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 $120,137 in Dallas, TX (+$20,137).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Dallas, TX: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 2,862 sqft in Dallas ($103 vs $175 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Dallas, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $20,136 | +$7,884 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $5,182 | +$525 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,675 | +$270 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,836 | +$312 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,600 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $8,136 | +$10 |
| Total | $32,764 | $42,565 | +$9,801 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Dallas, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 4.62% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 8.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 59 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $366,823 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -3.3% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $175 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,678 |
| 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% | 1.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |