2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$51,300
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-48.7%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$4,614
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$23,772
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$28,386/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,860
Local / City Tax -$3,441
Net Annual Take-Home $70,879
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $38,131
Target Market
Destination Location

Fort Smith, AR-OK

COL 92.9
Gross Parity Income $51,300
Federal Income Tax -$3,976
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$3,924
State Income Tax -$1,465
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $41,934
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$8,976
Discretionary Cash Flow $32,958

EPI family budgets put living costs 48.7% lower in Fort Smith, AR-OK than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $51,300 in Fort Smith. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $748 in Fort Smith, $23,772 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $4,614 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Fort Smith. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $28,386 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $39,560 in Fort Smith.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Fort Smith (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$748-$1,981-72.6%
Food & Groceries$426$319-$107-25.1%
Transportation$693$1,080+$387+55.8%
Healthcare$748$489-$259-34.6%
Other Necessities$879$313-$566-64.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,042-$385-15.9%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,981/mo (-72.6%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Fort Smith: $748/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,992/mo (-67.0%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Fort Smith: $979/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$19.49/hr (-48.7%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Fort Smith: $20.54/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$16.26/hr (-47.6%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Fort Smith: $17.93/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Fort Smith Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$79,870-$39,850 (-33.3%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$70,330-$86,670 (-55.2%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$114,140-$52,690 (-31.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$62,990-$42,660 (-40.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$104,990-$116,020 (-52.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$74,990-$51,670 (-40.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$65,170-$59,220 (-47.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$114,760-$100,540 (-46.7%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$93,990-$98,850 (-51.3%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$82,300-$46,630 (-36.2%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$99,110-$116,040 (-53.9%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$79,020$52,500-$26,520 (-33.6%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK Relocation FAQs

About $51,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 92.9 in Fort Smith, AR-OK, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Fort Smith, AR-OK to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Fort Smith, AR-OK: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Fort Smith, AR-OK to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $51,300. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 92.9 in Fort Smith, AR-OK, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Fort Smith, AR-OK cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 48.7% lower in Fort Smith, AR-OK than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.