Fort Smith, AR vs Detroit, MI
Moving from Fort Smith to Detroit? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $269,080 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Detroit 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 $115,093 in Detroit, MI (+$15,093).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Detroit, MI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 3,066 sqft in Detroit ($103 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Detroit, MI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $18,000 | +$5,748 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $4,896 | +$240 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $4,575 | +$1,170 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $2,316 | +$792 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $1,300 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $9,547 | +$1,421 |
| Total | $32,764 | $40,634 | +$7,870 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Detroit, MI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 6.60% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $269,080 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | 2.8% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,500 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 1.43% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 0.61% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $2,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 21.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $74 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 34.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 45.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 53% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |