Work & commute · Fort Smith

Work & commute in Fort Smith, AR

61% of Fort Smith’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Van Buren (8%), Little Rock (3%) and Fayetteville (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

61%

21,538 of 35,558 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14,020 Fort Smith residents head out of town to work, 21,538 work right here, and 38,575 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fort Smith.

14,020live here, work elsewhere

21,538live and work here

38,575work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fort Smith goes to work

Fort Smith (in town)right here

61%21,538

Van Buren7.1 mi away

8%2,696

Little Rock121.7 mi away

3%957

Fayetteville51.2 mi away

2%713

Bentonville69.7 mi away

2%600

Rogers68 mi away

2%598

Springdale59.4 mi away

2%566

Greenwood12.1 mi away

1%296

Alma13.3 mi away

1%246

Conway109.1 mi away

1%245

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%7,103

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Fort Smith commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

72%

21%

72%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fort Smith is a job hub

1.69jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Fort Smith are

60,113 jobs are based in Fort Smith. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fort Smith’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fort Smith

60,113 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Fort Smith residents hold

35,558 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+8%

Jobs based in Fort Smith, 2013 → 2023: 55,701 → 60,113. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.