St. Louis, MO vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from St. Louis to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis 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 St. Louis, MO, you'd need about $89,827 in Fort Smith, AR (−$10,173).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($158 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $12,252 | −$5,160 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,657 | −$278 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,405 | +$15 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,524 | +$12 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,800 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $8,127 | −$2,361 |
| Total | $40,136 | $32,764 | −$7,372 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $62 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 49.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 8.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |