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Fort Smith, AR vs Riverside, CA

Moving from Fort Smith to Riverside? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($205,554 → $585,378 median home) and taxes.

Fort Smith vs Riverside at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

Fort Smith, AR Riverside, CA Cost-of-living index Fort Smith, AR — Cost-of-living index: 85 85 Riverside, CA — Cost-of-living index: 107 107 Median home price Fort Smith, AR — Median home price: $206k $206k Riverside, CA — Median home price: $585k $585k Price per sqft Fort Smith, AR — Price per sqft: $103 $103 Riverside, CA — Price per sqft: $390 $390 Median rent Fort Smith, AR — Median rent: $1,021 $1,021 Riverside, CA — Median rent: $2,519 $2,519 Combined sales tax Fort Smith, AR — Combined sales tax: 9.5% 9.5% Riverside, CA — Combined sales tax: 8.8% 8.8% Property tax rate Fort Smith, AR — Property tax rate: 0.62% 0.62% Riverside, CA — Property tax rate: 0.79% 0.79% Violent crime /100k Fort Smith, AR — Violent crime /100k: 640 640 Riverside, CA — Violent crime /100k: 500 500 Electricity ¢/kWh Fort Smith, AR — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.2 14.2 Riverside, CA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 35.3 35.3 Avg commute (min) Fort Smith, AR — Avg commute (min): 22 22 Riverside, CA — Avg commute (min): 33 33 Avg summer high °F Fort Smith, AR — Avg summer high °F: 93° 93° Riverside, CA — Avg summer high °F: 84° 84° Avg winter low °F Fort Smith, AR — Avg winter low °F: 30° 30° Riverside, CA — Avg winter low °F: 45° 45°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Fort Smith, AR, you'd need about $125,823 in Riverside, CA (+$25,823).

Livability — Fort Smith, AR: 73 · Riverside, CA: 48 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith vs 1,281 sqft in Riverside ($103 vs $390 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategoryFort Smith, ARRiverside, CADifference
Housing $12,252 $30,228 +$17,976
Groceries $4,657 $5,098 +$441
Transportation $3,405 $5,125 +$1,720
Utilities $1,524 $3,804 +$2,280
Insurance $2,800 $1,500 −$1,300
Taxes $8,127 $19,978 +$11,852
Total $32,764 $65,733 +$32,968

Side by side

MetricFort Smith, ARRiverside, CA
Cost-of-living index85.3107.3
Unemployment rate5.23%6.95%
Population growth (5-yr)-12.6%3.0%
Air quality (median AQI)4497
Big Mac price (est.)$4.85$6.11
Median home price$205,554$585,378
Home price ÷ income3.9×7.2×
1-yr home appreciation4.6%-0.8%
Price per square foot$103$390
Median rent$1,021$2,519
Total tax burden (% income)10.2%13.5%
Combined sales tax9.47%8.82%
Capital gains tax3.90%13.30%
Property tax rate0.62%0.79%
Healthcare (annual)$6,000$7,200
Childcare (annual, infant)$7,500$19,000
Vehicle property tax1.02%0.65%
Avg commute (min)2233
Home insurance / yr$2,800$1,500
Auto insurance / yr$1,900$2,400
Flood insurance / yr$750$750
Earthquake insurance / yr$350$950
Electricity ¢/kWh14.235.3
Gas $/gal2.954.85
Violent crime /100k640500
Avg summer high °F9384
Avg winter low °F3045
Permit difficulty (1–5)25
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