Ocala → Fort Smith
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Ocala to Fort Smith is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.2 to 85.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $436/mo.
- -$5,135
- BLS median salary lower in Fort Smith
- 210 to 580
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.8:1 to 13.6:1
- 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
- + 9% lower cost of living
- + $436/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 95.2 to 85.9, so each dollar covers more in Fort Smith (ratio 0.90). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $436/mo ($5,232/yr) from $1,373 in Ocala to $937 in Fort Smith.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Fort Smith sits #50 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Ocala is #314/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,135 lower ($58,879 → $53,744). Labor-market size: 110,400 tracked jobs at origin vs 89,060 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Arkansas scores 74 (B, #6/51) vs Florida at 62 (C, #23/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
- Income tax
- 75
- Property tax
- 78
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 68
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 Ocala to see what you'd need to earn in Fort Smith to maintain the same purchasing power.
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