Fort Smith, AR vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Fort Smith to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Fort Smith vs Kansas City 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 $109,251 in Kansas City, MO (+$9,251).
Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($103 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fort Smith, AR | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $12,252 | $18,576 | +$6,324 |
| Groceries | $4,657 | $4,828 | +$171 |
| Transportation | $3,405 | $3,390 | −$15 |
| Utilities | $1,524 | $1,512 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,400 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $8,127 | $10,526 | +$2,400 |
| Total | $32,764 | $41,232 | +$8,467 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fort Smith, AR | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.3 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.23% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -12.6% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.85 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $205,554 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.6% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $103 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,021 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.2% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.47% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.02% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $62 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 640 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 93 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.0 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.0 | 18.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |