Virginia Beach, VA vs Fort Smith, AR
Moving from Virginia Beach to Fort Smith? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($373,678 → $205,554 median home) and taxes.
Virginia Beach 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 Virginia Beach, VA, you'd need about $87,300 in Fort Smith, AR (−$12,700).
Livability — Virginia Beach, VA: 68 · Fort Smith, AR: 73 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Virginia Beach vs 4,864 sqft in Fort Smith ($187 vs $103 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Virginia Beach, VA | Fort Smith, AR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,344 | $12,252 | −$10,092 |
| Groceries | $4,853 | $4,657 | −$196 |
| Transportation | $3,080 | $3,405 | +$325 |
| Utilities | $1,872 | $1,524 | −$348 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,800 | +$1,300 |
| Taxes | $10,303 | $8,127 | −$2,176 |
| Total | $43,952 | $32,764 | −$11,187 |
Side by side
| Metric | Virginia Beach, VA | Fort Smith, AR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.7 | 85.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 5.23% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.7% | -12.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 41 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.56 | $4.85 |
| Median home price | $373,678 | $205,554 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $103 |
| Median rent | $1,862 | $1,021 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.5% | 10.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.73% | 9.47% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 3.90% |
| Property tax rate | 0.86% | 0.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $7,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 3.97% | 1.02% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 200 | 640 |
| Avg summer high °F | 87 | 93 |
| Avg winter low °F | 28 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |