The breeding range of Smith's Longspur is too far north to be covered by the Breeding Bird Survey. Although the entire wintering range is within the overall survey area for the Christmas Bird Count, relatively few individuals are detected in most years, limiting the precision of the population trend. The available data show a large long-term increase, so despite the low confidence in the data, it's highly probable that the population is at worst stable, and likely increasing to at least some extent.  Improved monitoring would allow for increased confidence in the trend.

The goal for Smith's Longspur is to remain at or above its recent population level, based on the continental Christmas Bird Count results. Trend data show that Smith's Longspur is currently within its goal range.