Fort Smith is one of the largest cities in Arkansas with a population of 90,649. It’s also a prime location for people from the surrounding areas to visit for entertainment, shopping, healthcare, and more.
But does that make Fort Smith the best place for home builders and developers to target? Population numbers alone aren’t enough to determine that. However, Fort Smith has a number of selling points that make it the ideal place to target for residential development.
In this post, we’re going to look at how Fort Smith fares when it comes to migration trends, cost of living, home values, and more.
How Fort Smith Measures Up for Home Builders
We recently unpacked six factors affecting real estate for home builders in the U.S. While external factors like inflation and labor shortages are hitting developers pretty hard, Arkansas in general seems to be holding up pretty well.
When it comes to Fort Smith, in particular, here’s how it’s doing:
Migration Trends (Positive)
In 2026, the population of Fort Smith hit a high of 90,649. Since 2020, the city has seen 1.9% growth in residents.
According to an Atlas Van Lines 2025 Migration Patterns Study, Arkansas was the #1 state in the country for inbound moves. It’s not just that Arkansas’s inbound moves are increasing. The state’s outbound moves have dropped too:
| Year | Inbound Moves | Outbound Moves |
| 2025 | 68% | 32% |
| 2024 | 65% | 35% |
| 2023 | 58% | 42% |
| 2022 | 59% | 41% |
| 2021 | 62% | 38% |
| 2020 | 54% | 46% |
| 2019 | 49% | 51% |
2020 was a major turning point for the state, with the inbound rate of migration overcoming the outbound rate.
If you’re looking for an area with a stable demand for new housing, Fort Smith, AR is a good place to look.
Reputation (Positive)
In recent years, the spotlight has been on Fort Smith and Arkansas as the place to move and live.
- 2023 Best Places to Live (Best of the River Valley)
- 2023 Trendsetter City for Education/Workforce Development
- 2023 Trendsetter City for Tourism Development
- 2021 Best Art Town
- 2020 Trendsetter City for Health & Fitness
- 2019 Arts Development Award
Niche.com gave Fort Smith a rating of A- and ranked it as the second best place to live in Sebastian County. It received an A for public schools, diversity, and being good for families. And it received a B+ for housing.
Forbes Advisor named Arkansas #3 as the best state to start a business. With a low cost of living, low LLC business formation fee, high business survival rate, and ample opportunities for funding, AR is a great place to be an entrepreneur.
If you’re in the business of residential development, you want to be in a place like Fort Smith with a running list of accolades and perks for residents.
Home Values (Neutral)
Although Fort Smith has a lot of positives, we’d be remiss not to address some of the reasons why Fort Smith might not be the best place for new residential development at the moment. Let’s start by talking about home values.
Arkansas took the #2 spot on Rocket Mortgage’s cheapest states to buy a house. Realtor.com backs this up with its 2026 Affordability & Homebuilding Report Card. Arkansas was ranked #9 and received a B on its report card.
So, homes are definitely affordable in this state, which makes it a buyer’s market. Here’s why it might not be as friendly to home builders and developers:
In Fort Smith, homes go for about 96% of their asking price, according to Realtor.com.
In 2026, the median list price for Fort Smith homes was $245,000 according to Zillow. The media sale price was $210,917.
17.8% of homes were sold over their asking price. However, 55.8% went for less.
What’s more, a MoneyLion study found that Fort Smith has a reputation for being overpriced. It ranked #11 in the country.
According to the study, the average listing price is $263,100 versus the average home value of $200,091. That’s a 31.5% gap. The U.S. national average only has a 9% gap between the two.
So, yes, Arkansas has a reputation for affordable housing, which will draw in buyers. However, the statistics suggest that buyers aren’t willing to pay the listing price a lot of the time.
Job Market (Negative)
One of the reasons why prospective homeowners might not be willing to shell out the full asking price is because they just don’t have the means to pay for it.
Forbes Advisor called Arkansas one of the best places to start a business. Plus, Fort Smith is a hotspot for companies like:
- OK Foods
- Kraft-Planters
- ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc.
- Mars Petcare
- Owens Corning
- Georgia-Pacific Dixie Products
Despite this, the job market in Fort Smith is in poor shape. According to U.S. News & World Report and Census.gov:
| National Average | Fort Smith, AR | |
| Median Household Income | $83,181 | $55,754 |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.5% | 4.7% |
| Poverty Rate | 10.2% | 18.3% |
Fort Smith has a ton of positive qualities, which make it an attractive place to buy a home. However, the job market is going to be a challenge that home builders and buyers alike have to overcome.
Cost of Living (Positive)
U.S. News & World Report ranks Arkansas as the #2 state for affordability.
Here’s how the numbers compare between Fort Smith and the national average:
| National Average | Fort Smith, AR | |
| Cost of Living Score | 100 | 76.6 |
| Cost of Living (family) | $4,522 /month | $2,460 / month |
| Cost of Living (single) | $3,857 / month | $2,133 / month |
| Average Home | $338,100 | $155,000 |
| Housing Score | 100 | 44 |
| Utilities Score | 100 | 94.8 |
| Grocery Score | 100 | 93.7 |
With so many prospective buyers concerned about the cost of living right now, this could make Fort Smith an attractive option for many people looking to buy their first home.
Your Roofing Partner for New Construction in Fort Smith, AR
There are so many reasons why people are flocking to the state of Arkansas. And why people are choosing Fort Smith as their home. Despite some of the drawbacks (thanks in part to the current economic climate), Fort Smith would be a good place for home builders to explore for their next development project.
If you’ve decided to construct new homes and developments in Fort Smith, your next step is to find a residential roofing partner you can trust.
For over 30 years, Foster Roofing has been the leading roofing company in the River Valley and Fort Smith. Want to get the discussion going? Call us at 479-308-0413 or fill out our contact form.