Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Fort Smith run?
Fort Smith’s city government spent $111.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,237 per resident. Water and other utilities ($29.3 million) and the airport ($2.9 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Fort Smith is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,237 per resident a year, or $3.39 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 26%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,014 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Fort Smith’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,014 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 17 Arkansas cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $950, and the middle half spent $856–$1,158. Fort Smith spent more than 53% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($20.9 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Arkansas cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Fort Smith itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 25% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Fort Smith reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,014 · 2023: $1,232 · 2024: $1,237.
full-time in March 2025, up from 961 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $1,137 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.64% of the home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Fort Smith’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Fort Smith’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Fort Smith →
Who’s in charge in Fort Smith
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Fort Smith’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on fortsmithar.gov ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 91 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (89,992).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Fort Smith Public Schools
Fort Smith’s K–12 school district, shared with Barling. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,857 per pupil, $6,938 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Arkansas districts overall: 16% local, 70% state, 14% federal.
Greenwood School District · $11,668 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Fort Smith’s votes are counted by county
Arkansas reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Smith alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Sebastian County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican67.6%30,719 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat30.0%13,652 votesOthers: 2.4% (1,081 votes).
Most votes in Sebastian County: Donald J Trump
Arkansas: Trump 64.2%, Harris 33.6%
100% of Fort Smith lies in Sebastian County. Every 2024 race in Sebastian County is on the county’s page.
Sebastian County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Fort Smith sends 5 representatives to the Arkansas House alone.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: fortsmithar.gov ↗
- 2Arkansas HouseFort Smith is split between 5 districts
- 3Arkansas SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Arkansas
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Fort Smith compares with the towns next door
Fort Smith spent $1,014 per resident in 2022. Towns that run more services spend more. Tap a town to see its page.
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Fort Smith’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Fort Smith’s government
How much does Fort Smith spend per resident?
About $1,237 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,014 was more than 53% of 17 Arkansas cities of 50,000–99,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Fort Smith?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,137 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.64% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.55% across Arkansas. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see fortsmithar.gov.
Who runs Fort Smith’s government?
See fortsmithar.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Fort Smith yet.
How did Fort Smith vote in 2024?
Arkansas counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Fort Smith alone. Sebastian County, where 100% of Fort Smith lies, voted Trump 67.6%, Harris 30.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Fort Smith?
994 full-time and 11 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $6.0M (about $72.2M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Fort Smith in the state legislature?
Fort Smith is split among 5 State House districts and 2 State Senate districts, so your address decides. The Arkansas Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Fort Smith’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →