Fort Smith, AR vs Denver, CO
Moving from Fort Smith to Denver? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $573,221 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Denver 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 $123,979 in Denver, CO (+$23,979).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Denver, CO: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 1,657 sqft in Denver ($103 vs $302 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Denver, CO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $22,920 | +$10,668 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $5,079 | +$422 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,050 | +$645 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,788 | +$264 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,800 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $9,828 | +$1,701 |
| Total | $32,764 | $46,464 | +$13,700 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Denver, CO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 105.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 4.26% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $6.02 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $573,221 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | -2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $302 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,910 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 7.77% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 0.52% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 1.79% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 16.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $65 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $120 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $87 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 15.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 49.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 69% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |