Indianapolis, IN vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from Indianapolis to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($295,921 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
Indianapolis vs Fort Smith 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 Indianapolis, IN, you'd need about $90,133 in Fort Smith, AR (−$9,867).
Livability — Indianapolis, IN: 71 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,211 sqft in Indianapolis vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($156 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Indianapolis, IN | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,636 | $12,252 | −$6,384 |
| Groceries | $4,740 | $4,657 | −$83 |
| Transportation | $3,250 | $3,405 | +$155 |
| Utilities | $1,932 | $1,524 | −$408 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $2,800 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $7,367 | $8,127 | +$760 |
| Total | $37,525 | $32,764 | −$4,761 |
Side by side
| Metric | Indianapolis, IN | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.28% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.1% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $295,921 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $156 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,553 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.05% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.20% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.9 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $102 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 360 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 86 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 25.5 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |