Fort Smith, Arkansas demographics

Fort Smith, AR demographics: median age 36.5; 23.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Fort Smith city, Arkansas · Incorporated city · GEOID 0524550. The survey estimates a population of 89,805 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Fort Smith is 36.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.6 years. There are 36,775 households (±632). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.5 ±0.6	38.5 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Under 18	21,353 ±941	23.8% ±1.0 pp	23.1%	22.0%
18–34	21,638 ±779	24.1% ±0.9 pp	22.3%	22.8%
35–64	32,433 ±1,186	36.1% ±1.3 pp	37.0%	38.0%
65 and older	14,381 ±820	16.0% ±0.9 pp	17.6%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Male	44,442 ±619	49.5% ±0.7 pp	49.4%	49.5%
Female	45,363 ±628	50.5% ±0.7 pp	50.6%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
White alone	54,201 ±876	60.4% ±1.0 pp	69.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	6,299 ±606	7.0% ±0.7 pp	14.7%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	746 ±169	0.8% ±0.2 pp	0.6%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,960 ±444	5.5% ±0.5 pp	1.6%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	47 ±137 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	11,904 ±1,061	13.3% ±1.2 pp	3.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	11,648 ±1,150	13.0% ±1.3 pp	10.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	71,384 ±533	79.5% ±0.6 pp	91.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	18,421 ±526	20.5% ±0.6 pp	9.0%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 36,775
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Married-couple family	15,568 ±826	42.3% ±2.1 pp	47.0%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,686 ±340	4.6% ±0.9 pp	4.8%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	5,566 ±630	15.1% ±1.7 pp	12.8%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	11,490 ±874	31.2% ±2.3 pp	29.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,465 ±491	6.7% ±1.3 pp	5.5%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 36,775
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Households with people under 18	11,263 ±603	30.6% ±1.6 pp	30.6%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	25,512 ±804	69.4% ±1.8 pp	69.4%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 36,775
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	11,490 ±874	31.2% ±2.3 pp	29.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	11,725 ±929	31.9% ±2.5 pp	34.8%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,683 ±614	15.5% ±1.6 pp	15.2%	15.3%
Four-person households	4,051 ±477	11.0% ±1.3 pp	11.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	2,673 ±459	7.3% ±1.2 pp	5.4%	5.9%
Six-person households	738 ±226	2.0% ±0.6 pp	2.2%	2.2%
Seven or more people	415 ±149	1.1% ±0.4 pp	1.2%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 89,805
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Native	79,142 ±961	88.1% ±1.1 pp	94.6%	85.9%
Foreign born	10,663 ±949	11.9% ±1.1 pp	5.4%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 83,960
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
English only	66,382 ±980	79.1% ±1.1 pp	91.7%	77.7%
Spanish	13,108 ±795	15.6% ±0.9 pp	6.1%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	62 ±56 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	317 ±98	0.4% ±0.1 pp	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	109 ±102 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	244 ±160 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	2.0%
Korean	40 ±46 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	3 ±6 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	1,397 ±326	1.7% ±0.4 pp	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	119 ±93 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,979 ±401	2.4% ±0.5 pp	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	74 ±62 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	126 ±86 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 60,043
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	9,784 ±976	16.3% ±1.6 pp	11.3%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	18,417 ±1,081	30.7% ±1.8 pp	34.1%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	12,815 ±1,002	21.3% ±1.7 pp	20.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,697 ±610	7.8% ±1.0 pp	8.2%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	8,382 ±776	14.0% ±1.3 pp	16.3%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	5,948 ±795	9.9% ±1.3 pp	9.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 88,495
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Arkansas	U.S.
Same house	73,824 ±1,342	83.4% ±1.5 pp	87.4%	87.7%
Moved within same county	7,274 ±1,095	8.2% ±1.2 pp	6.5%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	3,562 ±704	4.0% ±0.8 pp	3.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	3,584 ±732	4.0% ±0.8 pp	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	251 ±229 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

12.7% of Fort Smith residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 9.0% in Arkansas and 8.4% nationally. 85.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Fort Smith	Arkansas	U.S.	Compared with Arkansas
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	12.7% ±1.2 pp	9.0%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	85.4% ±1.6 pp	86.7%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.8% ±0.8 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Fort Smith . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Fort Smith housing and cost context or return to the city profile.