Cost of living comparison
compared to
Fayetteville vs. Fort Smith Cost of Living Summary
Fayetteville is 27.0% more expensive than Fort Smith.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.9% less in Fayetteville
- Groceries
-
pay 29.0% more in Fayetteville
- Transportation
-
pay 34.4% more in Fayetteville
- Housing
-
pay 54.0% more in Fayetteville
- Childcare
-
pay 5.0% less in Fayetteville
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.5% more in Fayetteville
- Clothing
-
pay 0.4% less in Fayetteville
Fayetteville vs. Fort Smith Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Fayetteville instead of Fort Smith, you would:
pay 4.9% less for restaurants
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$18.25
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.27
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$1.62
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of restaurants
pay 29.0% more for groceries
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.35
|
$3.71
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.74
|
$5.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.69
|
$3.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.94
|
$3.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.92
|
$3.99
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$1.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.02
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$2.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$1.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$1.49
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of groceries
pay 34.4% more for transportation
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
|
$3.70
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$35,535.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.75
|
$20.64
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of transportation
pay 54.0% more for housing
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.50
|
$63.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$679.75
|
$1,215.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$656.25
|
$1,280.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$213.32
|
$139.21
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of housing
pay 5.0% less for childcare
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$900.00
|
$771.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,729.17
|
$25,000.00
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of childcare
pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.26
|
$4.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.21
|
$8.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$26.67
|
$33.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.50
|
$13.00
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.4% less for clothing
|
Fort Smith
|
Fayetteville
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.80
|
$51.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.20
|
$37.25
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.33
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$76.66
|
$116.33
|
|
Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Fort Smith vs. Fayetteville
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Fayetteville or Fort Smith. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.