Northwest Arkansas sales tax revenue up 6.63% in February reports

Holiday spending helped the four largest cities in Northwest Arkansas report 6.63% higher sales tax revenue in the February report. Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale cumulatively received $8.107 million in sales tax revenue, up from $7.603 million in the February 2020 report.

Each city collects local sales tax for goods and services and this report reflects 1% of that tax that flows into each city’s operating budget. The February sales tax report reflects sales from December.

Rogers led the pack reporting revenue of $2.303 million, compared to $2.102 million in the year-ago period. This healthy 9.57% growth reversed the loss of 1.44% report last month and was the largest monthly percentage growth for the city since April 2020.

Rogers held its 2021 sales tax revenue budget steady at $19.9 million which calls for average monthly revenue of $1.666 million. The budget factors in the lingering pandemic through some of this year and consumer online shopping behaviors that have negatively impacted brick and mortar retail centers. Through the first two reporting months sales tax revenue is $4.06 million, up 4.53% compared with $3.884 million in the year-ago period.

Springdale has had a robust start this year with sales tax revenue up 7.32% in February and 7.37% in the January report. The city’s sales tax revenue totaled $1.544 million in the February report, the highest February on record for the city.

Springdale’s 2020 sales tax revenue of $17.105 million was up 8.31%, doubling the percentage gains from the prior year. Mayor Doug Sprouse has said the city continues to benefit from more consumers shopping online amid the pandemic. He said growth in the city’s population also helped with the addition of Bethel Heights last year, making the city the fourth largest in the state with a population nearing 80,000.

Sprouse said he’s hopeful the region will reach the herd immunity by the fall if not sooner. He said there will be minor league baseball played at Arvest BallPark this summer and the city’s youth fields will also welcome teams for play.

“As the weather warms up people want to be together again outdoors. This goes way beyond city revenue, it’s about the human toll this pandemic has taken and we are eager for it to be over,” Sprouse said.

For the first two months of this year Springdale’s sales tax revenue totals $3.01 million, up 7.3% from $2.804 million in the same period of 2020.

Fayetteville sales tax revenue rose 6.85% from the year-ago period. At $2.411 million, the city stretched gains that started last month. The city’s sales tax revenue reported through February totals $4.72 million, up from $4.2 million reported a year ago.

Bentonville reported sales tax growth of 2.38% this month. Revenue totaled $1.847 million. The modest growth came on the heels of a whopping 49.16% rise in the revenue reported last month. Through the first two months of this year revenue totals $3.396 million, up 13.3% from $2.997 million reported a year ago.