Sales tax revenue up almost 20% in four Northwest Arkansas cities

Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale cumulatively reported $8.095 million in sales tax revenue in the October report, up 19.5% compared with $6.771 million a year ago and $6.92 million in the pre-COVID year of 2019.

The revenue stems from local sales tax collected by the cities for sales of goods and services rendered in August, creating a two-month lag in the local data. This report reflects 1% local sales tax each of the cities collect and put into their city budgets. The nearly 20% gains were a record for the region for this month of reporting, with the normal gains over the past decades ranging between 5% and 8%.

Bentonville reported revenue of $1.869 million, up 30.45% from the same period last year and 7.38% better than 2019. Year-to-date through the October report, Bentonville’s sales tax revenue totals $17.636 million, up 30% from the same period last year.

Rogers saw its sales tax revenue jump 24.85%. The city reported sales tax revenue of $2.093 million, a gain of $417,000 from the same month last year. Rogers’ October sales tax reported in 2019 totaled $1.753 million. Through the October report, Rogers sales tax revenue totals $19.563 million, compared to $16.991 million a year ago. Revenue growth is more than $2.5 million over a year ago.

Springdale reported 15.88% gain in sales tax revenue. Revenue totaled $1.717 million, more than $300,000 more than the same month last year or the prior year. Through October, Springdale reported revenue of $15.869 million, up compared with $14.151 million in the same period of 2020 and $13.025 million in 2019.

Fayetteville also reported double-digit percentage gains in sales tax revenue. At $2.414 million, the city’s sales tax revenue rose 10.82% compared to the year-ago period. Through the October report, Fayetteville sales tax revenue totals $22.3 million, up 14.74% from the period last year. Revenue is also up 19% from some period in 2019.

Retail sales reported in September surprised economists. U.S. Commerce Department reported September retail sales of $625.4 billion, up 0.7% compared to August and up 13.9% year over year. Total retail sales from July through September were up 14.9% compared with the same period a year ago.