San Antonio, TX vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from San Antonio to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($280,297 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
San Antonio 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 San Antonio, TX, you'd need about $90,441 in Fort Smith, AR (−$9,559).
Livability — San Antonio, TX: 75 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,745 sqft in San Antonio vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($134 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | San Antonio, TX | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,848 | $12,252 | −$4,596 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,657 | +$10 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,405 | −$270 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,524 | −$312 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,800 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $6,956 | $8,127 | +$1,171 |
| Total | $37,562 | $32,764 | −$4,797 |
Side by side
| Metric | San Antonio, TX | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.3 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.1% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.37 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $280,297 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $134 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,404 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.74% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |