Fort Smith, AR (2024)

FAQs

What is special about Fort Smith, Arkansas? ›

The Military Fort That Gave Rise to a City

The U.S. military officially abandoned the military post in 1871. Today, parts of the original fort are still visible, and the Fort Smith National Historic Site offers visitors an exciting glimpse into America's western heritage.

In 2020, The four largest ethnic groups in Fort Smith's population reflected 62.8% White, 19.6% Hispanic/ Latino, 8.8% Black/African American, and 6.1% Asian. Approximately 12% of the population reported being born in another country and approximately 21% reported speaking another language other than English at home.

Fort Smith is in Sebastian County and is one of the best places to live in Arkansas. Living in Fort Smith offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Fort Smith there are a lot of parks. Many families and young professionals live in Fort Smith and residents tend to lean conservative.

Fort Smith is situated near an area known as Tornado Alley in the central United States.

In Fort Smith the same situation exists but with a wet city existing in an otherwise dry county. A city or municipality can elect to go dry in a wet county, but a city or municipality cannot elect to go wet in a dry county.

Hourly wage needed for a single working adult: $38.20. Salary needed for a single working adult: $79,456. Rank of income needed for a family: 49 (out of 50) Salary needed across two working adults raising two children: $180,794.

The largest industries in Fort Smith, AR are Manufacturing (6,993 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (5,639 people), and Retail Trade (4,253 people), and the highest paying industries are Management of Companies & Enterprises ($80,071), Utilities ($79,830), and Finance & Insurance ($57,228).

Based on our Fort Smith cost of living calculator, Fort Smith is 24% less expensive than the national average and 8% less expensive to live in than the average city in Arkansas.

Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas, tornado of April 21, 1996.

What town in Arkansas was destroyed by the tornado? ›

One of the hardest hit towns was Rogers, Ark., a city situated between the Walmart headquarters in Bentonville and Arkansas's largest state park. Nearly two-thirds of Rogers lost power. Downed trees have made it difficult to move about.

Since 1950, counties with 50 or more tornadoes are mostly clustered along Interstate 30 and U.S. Highway 67/167. This includes areas from Benton (Saline County) and Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Jonesboro (Craighead County). Tornado deaths are highest in this part of the state as well.