The Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a five-county area including three Arkansas counties and two Oklahoma counties, and anchored by the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The total MSA population in 2000 was 273,170 people, estimated by the Bureau to have grown to 289,693 people by 2007. Other major cities located within the area include the Arkansas cities of Van Buren and Ozark and the Oklahoma cities of Poteau and Sallisaw. It is directly positioned under Crawford County in the western part of Arkansas.

Counties

Constituent counties of the MSA include: Arkansas Oklahoma

Communities

Communities are categorized based on their populations in the 2000 U.S. Census.

Places with more than 75,000 inhabitants

Places with 10,000 to 25,000 inhabitants

Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants

Places with 500 to 1,000 inhabitants

Places with fewer than 500 inhabitants

Unincorporated places

Largest cities in the MSA

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 273,170 people, 104,506 households, and 75,005 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 82.78% White, 3.46% African American, 5.80% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.26% from other races, and 3.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.54% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $30,500, and the median income for a family was $35,902. Males had a median income of $28,074 versus $20,182 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $15,039.