Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers salary in Fort Smith, AR
Median pay for heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers in Fort Smith, AR: $48,730/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $28,900 – $73,560 · about 3,420 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($51,330) by −$2,600 (-5%).
What it's really worth in Fort Smith
With Fort Smith's cost of living at 85 (US=100), that $48,730 has the buying power of about $57,120 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $53,224 · median home $205,554 · median rent $1,021/mo.
How Fort Smith ranks for this job
On raw pay, Fort Smith, AR is 141st of the 187 metros we hold heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers wages for. Once Fort Smith's cost of living is applied, it ranks 50th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Fort Smith is one of the places where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Fort Smith
A median home in Fort Smith, AR costs $205,554 — about 4.2× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,021/mo works out at 25% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Fort Smith.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Fort Smith | Rent vs Fort Smith |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln, NE | $89,760 | +84% | 1.3× |
| Seattle, WA | $63,460 | +30% | 2.2× |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,750 | +29% | 3.2× |
| San Jose, CA | $62,560 | +28% | 3.6× |
Same job elsewhere in AR
| Metro | Median pay | vs Fort Smith | Rent vs Fort Smith |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Rock, AR | $54,080 | +11% | 1.2× |
| Fayetteville, AR | $46,270 | −5% | 1.6× |
Staying in AR keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Who hires heavy & tractor-trailer truck drivers around Fort Smith
Large local employers in sectors that typically employ this role.
- OK Foods · Manufacturing
- Weyerhauser · Manufacturing
Other jobs in Fort Smith
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 187 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.