Broken Arrow vs Fort Smith
The short version
- Fort Smith is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 4% lower than in the Broken Arrow area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $178,100 in Fort Smith and $250,400 in Broken Arrow.
- Households earn more in Broken Arrow ($86,765 vs $54,816 median).
- Broken Arrow is growing faster: +10.1% since 2020 vs +1.9%.
- Commutes are shorter in Fort Smith (17 vs 22 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Broken Arrow, OK | Fort Smith, AR | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 124,991 | 90,855 |
| Growth since 2020 | +10.1% | +1.9% |
| People per square mile | 1,985 | 1,415 |
| Median age | 37.1 | 36.5 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 36% | 24% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $86,765 | $54,816 |
| Median home value | $250,400 | $178,100 |
| Home value to income | 2.9× | 3.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,320 | $884 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 89.2 | 85.9 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 68.2 | 53.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $66,900 | $64,400 |
| Homeowners | 72% | 53% |
| Top state income tax | 4.5% | 3.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.06% | 9.48% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 21.9 | 16.8 |
| Work from home | 11% | 8% |
| Take public transit | 0% | 0% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.2% | 6.5% |
| Poverty rate | 8.8% | 18.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 49° / 28° | 51° / 30° |
| July high / low | 94° / 73° | 94° / 72° |
| Precipitation per year | 41 in | 47 in |
| Snowfall per year | 9 in | 3 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 74 | 78 |
| Nights below freezing | 72 | 63 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 1 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Moderate |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 97.9 | 86.8 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 50% | 72% |
| Home prices, past year | +4% | +3.2% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +45.5% | +47.7% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Broken Arrow: April and September to October. Fort Smith: October.
Full monthly tables: Broken Arrow weather by month and Fort Smith weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $66,900 in Broken Arrow and $64,400 in Fort Smith. Moving from Broken Arrow to Fort Smith, you would need about $72,200 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Broken Arrow and Fort Smith
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Broken Arrow and Fort Smith.
Which would you pick?
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