Fort Smith vs Chicago-Naperville-Elgin

What This Comparison Actually Tells You

The Bureau of Economic Analysis indexes Fort Smith, AR-OK at an overall Regional Price Parity of 85.9 and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN at 103.6, using the U.S. national average of 100 as the reference point. That puts Chicago-Naperville-Elgin 20.6% more expensive than Fort Smith on a blended basket of goods, services, and rents. The raw index gap of 17.7 points matters more than the headline comparison because it flows directly into salary-equivalent math that families use for relocation, job offers, and remote-work arbitrage decisions.

Inside the breakdown, Fort Smith indexes goods at 93.6, services at 73.8, and rents at 53.4, while Chicago-Naperville-Elgin comes in at 107.3, 83.6, and 112.0 on the same three categories. The rent line carries the largest weight in the BEA methodology, so a metro with a higher rent index almost always ends up more expensive overall - Chicago-Naperville-Elgin carries the heavier rent load here, and that tends to dominate household budget experience on the ground.

In salary terms, a $100,000 income in Fort Smith has the same purchasing power as $120,616 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin based on these indexes. The two metros serve populations of roughly 228,916 (Fort Smith) and 9,359,555 (Chicago-Naperville-Elgin), and median household incomes are $56,717 versus $88,850 respectively - so the right way to read this comparison is never the index alone, but the ratio of your expected local salary to the rent and services mix. For any serious relocation or remote-work decision, pair this BEA comparison with BLS occupation-specific wage data, HUD Fair Market Rent tables, and state tax treatment before committing.