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Best Fire Science Schools Near Fort Smith, AR (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Fort Smith, Arkansas is home to about 89,496 residents. Median household income is $52,692 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 25.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Arkansas, the top-earning fire science-related role is Fire Inspector and Investigator at a median $57,990 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Fire Science Schools to Fort Smith
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer fire science programs near Fort Smith, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Fort Smith city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Fort Smith.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Arkansas schools on the Arkansas fire science page.
Fire Science Wages Near Fort Smith
Fort Smith is part of the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area (BLS area code 22900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Arkansas statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Firefighter
$35,990
Fort Smith, AR-OK
$41,898
First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
$50,550
Fort Smith, AR-OK
$58,847
Fire Inspector and Investigator
$57,990
AR statewide
$67,509
Emergency Management Director
$50,180
AR statewide
$58,417
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Fort Smith at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
89,496
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$52,692
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
25.3%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
85.9 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Fort Smith-Area Cities With Fire Science Programs
What are the highest-paying fire science roles near Fort Smith?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying fire science-related roles near Fort Smith are: Fire Inspector and Investigator ($57,990), First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers ($50,550), Emergency Management Director ($50,180). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Arkansas statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Van Buren instead of Fort Smith?
Van Buren, AR is 6.9 miles from Fort Smith and has its own set of local fire science programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Fort Smith an affordable place to study fire science?
Fort Smith’s median household income of $52,692 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Fort Smith while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Arkansas public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
