Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Arkansas

Real estate businesses in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #178 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas

Listings
232
18 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
149
+10.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.3B
On rent and homeowner costs · $13,745 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
124
24% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
25.5
34% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
234,140
+3.1% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Fort Smith metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Fort Smith metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $13,745 per household (18% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Smith metro area spend about $1.3B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 24% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

There are 232 real estate businesses on map listings in the Fort Smith metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 25.5, 34% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 149 businesses with payroll in the Fort Smith metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 10.7% from 2019. That is one for every 611 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Another 852 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Smith metro area grew 3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate businesses, the Fort Smith metro area has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #178 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas.

How the Fort Smith metro area compares

The same measures for Arkansas and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasureFort Smith metro areaArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households25.528.338.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)124115100
Households per official establishment611593414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.7%+19.7%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$13,745$14,055$16,661
Median household income$58,468$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market score5056

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
149+10.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
619
Annual payroll, 2023
$28M
One-person businesses, 2023
852Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
23218 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
289The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Fort Smith metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Fort Smith metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
234,140+3.1% since 2020
Households
90,992
Median age
39.2
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,800 sq. mi.
People per square mile
128
Median household income
$58,468
Average household income
$82,344
Median home value
$171,200
Jobs located here
98,120
Daytime population
234,865Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Fort Smith metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Fort Smith metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Smith metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Arkansas

Metro areas in Arkansas ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
Memphis, TN-MS-AR531,52829.2116−0.3%#155 of 387
1Fort Smith, AR-OK5023225.5124+3.1%#178 of 387
2Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR461,06734.298+3.8%#227 of 387
Texarkana, TX-AR4513724.4129−0.4%#233 of 387
3Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR4487140.490+13.1%#246 of 387
4Jonesboro, AR3821941.177+3.6%#305 of 387
5Hot Springs, AR1916437.684−0.6%#386 of 387

Other business types in the Fort Smith metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 232 real estate businesses in the Fort Smith metro area. 18 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 149 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 10.7% from 2019. Official counts list 852 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1.3B a year, or $13,745 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 232 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 24% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,992 households in the Fort Smith metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Fort Smith metro area has 25.5 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 124, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Fort Smith metro area would have about 289, against 232 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 611 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Fort Smith metro area at 234,140 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,992 households. Median household income in the Fort Smith metro area is $58,468, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Fort Smith metro area scores 50 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #178 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Smith metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Fort Smith metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Smith metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Fort Smith metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.