Fort Smith → Albuquerque
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Fort Smith to Albuquerque is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 85.9 to 95.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $527/mo.
- +$13,133
- BLS median salary higher in Albuquerque
- 580 to 697
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 14:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + $13K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 10% higher cost of living
- - $527/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 85.9 to 95.5, so the same paycheck buys less in Albuquerque (ratio 1.11). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $527/mo ($6,324/yr) from $937 in Fort Smith to $1,464 in Albuquerque.
Fort Smith still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Albuquerque sits #327 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Fort Smith is #50/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $13,133 higher ($53,744 → $66,877). Labor-market size: 89,060 tracked jobs at origin vs 388,700 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Arkansas scores 74 (B, #6/51) vs New Mexico at 59 (D, #28/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 75
- Property tax
- 78
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 68
- Income tax
- 78
- Property tax
- 77
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 50
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Fort Smith to see what you'd need to earn in Albuquerque to maintain the same purchasing power.
Albuquerque metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026