Lawyers salary in Fort Smith, AR
Median pay for lawyers in Fort Smith, AR: $90,670/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $49,280 – $180,750 · about 170 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($119,840) by −$29,170 (-24%).
What it's really worth in Fort Smith
With Fort Smith's cost of living at 85 (US=100), that $90,670 has the buying power of about $106,282 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $53,224 · median home $205,554 · median rent $1,021/mo.
How Fort Smith ranks for this job
On raw pay, Fort Smith, AR is 179th of the 183 metros we hold lawyers wages for. Once Fort Smith's cost of living is applied, it ranks 164th.
Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Fort Smith sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.
What that salary buys in Fort Smith
A median home in Fort Smith, AR costs $205,554 — about 2.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.
Median rent of $1,021/mo works out at 14% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.
Where lawyers earn more
Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Fort Smith.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Fort Smith | Rent vs Fort Smith |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $239,200 | +164% | 3.6× |
| San Francisco, CA | $217,340 | +140% | 3.2× |
| Los Angeles, CA | $194,020 | +114% | 2.8× |
| New York, NY | $185,790 | +105% | 3.4× |
Same job elsewhere in AR
| Metro | Median pay | vs Fort Smith | Rent vs Fort Smith |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville, AR | $109,420 | +21% | 1.6× |
| Little Rock, AR | $92,350 | +2% | 1.2× |
Staying in AR keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Fort Smith
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 183 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.