Las Vegas, NV vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from Las Vegas to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas, NV, you'd need about $86,799 in Fort Smith, AR (−$13,201).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($227 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $12,252 | −$8,592 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,657 | −$185 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,405 | −$1,335 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,524 | −$24 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,800 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $8,127 | +$3,348 |
| Total | $38,052 | $32,764 | −$5,288 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |