PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Fort Smith, AR-OK

44.4
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#277
of 387 metros
28%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Fort Smith ranks #277 of 387 US metros, ahead of 28% - carried by its rent (98/100) and held back most by wages (2/100).

98
strongest: Rent
96
then: Cost of Living
2
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Fort Smith sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

44 28th percentile higher than 28% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Fort Smith Life Score

Fort Smith's composite score of 44.4 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #277 of 387, ahead of 28% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (98/100) and Cost of Living (96/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (2/100) and Safety (5/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 85.9 (rent-RPP 53.4). BLS median salary $53,744, 89,060 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $937/mo (studio $683).

FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 9.6% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR). Ranks #274-#280 below.

Dimension detail

How Fort Smith scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 96/100 (20%)
Wages 2/100 (20%)
Rent 98/100 (15%)
Safety 5/100 (15%)
Schools 19/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 32/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$53,744
Avg Median Salary
$937
2BR Fair Market Rent
580
Violent Crime/100K (AR)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
17
Superfund Sites (AR)
89,060
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Fort Smith With...

Fort Smith vs Texarkana Compare → Fort Smith vs Memphis Compare → Fort Smith vs Jonesboro Compare → Fort Smith vs Wildwood Compare → Fort Smith vs Waterloo Compare → Fort Smith vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Fort Smith outranks 28% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#274 Columbia, MO 44.5 C
#275 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 44.5 C
#276 Charlottesville, VA 44.6 C
#277 Fort Smith, AR-OK 44.4 C
#278 San Angelo, TX 44.4 C
#279 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 44.3 C
#280 Lebanon, PA 44.2 C

AR Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jonesboro, AR C 45.1 Hot Springs, AR C 43.1 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR C- 40.8 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR D 35.7

Using Fort Smith's Life Score

Fort Smith is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is rent (98/100) and its weakest is wages (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Fort Smith head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Fort Smith lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Fort Smith's biggest strengths? ▼
Fort Smith's strongest dimensions are Rent (98/100), Cost of Living (96/100), Environment (32/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Fort Smith's weakest areas? ▼
Fort Smith's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (2/100), Safety (5/100), Schools (19/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Fort Smith compared to the national average? ▼
Fort Smith's Regional Price Parity is 85.9 (14.1% less than national); rent RPP 53.4.
What is the average salary in Fort Smith? ▼
Fort Smith median salary: $53,744, 89,060 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Fort Smith's 44.4/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.