City comparison
Fort Smith, AR is about 400 miles (650 km) from Houston, TX in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 475 miles, or about 8 h behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Fort Smith, AR to Houston, TX takes about 47 min, covering roughly 400 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Houston has a population of 2,296,253, vs 89,315 in Fort Smith — about 25.7× larger by population. By land area, Houston covers about 640 sq mi vs 64 sq mi for Fort Smith.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Fort Smith | Houston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $798/mo | $1,235/mo | 54.8% higher in Houston |
| Median home value | $155,600 | $235,000 | 51.0% higher in Houston |
| Median household income | $50,799 | $60,440 | 19.0% higher in Houston |
| Groceries index | 94.1 | 100.4 | 6.7% higher in Houston |
| Utilities index | 75.7 | 96.3 | 27.2% higher in Houston |
| Transportation index | 95.8 | 95.8 | ≈ equal (Fort Smith slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 95.3 | 95.2 | ≈ equal (Fort Smith slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Fort Smith, you'd need $131,358 in Houston to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Fort Smith, AR is about 23.9% cheaper overall than Houston, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 91% higher in Houston than in Fort Smith. If you earn $80,000 in Fort Smith, you'd need about $105,086 in Houston to keep the same standard of living.