Northwest Arkansas sales tax revenue rises 10.5% in 2023

A recession forecast for the end of 2023 never arrived and consumer and business spending remained steady in Northwest Arkansas. Year-end reports from Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale show sales tax revenue totaled $113.47 million, up 10.5% from 2022.

Bentonville had a stellar year of revenue growth with the December report totaling $28.836 million, up 26.56% compared with 2022. It was Bentonville’s strong growth throughout most of 2023 that hoisted up the region’s overall results into double-digits. The revenue reported in December totaled $2.411 million, up 22.26% year-over-year. Bentonville was the only city among the four to report double-digit growth each month during 2023.

Rogers also surpassed its revenue goals for the past 12 months adding $29.046 million to its coffers, up 8.08%. The city budgeted revenue of $24.9 million, creating a surplus of $4.146 million more than expected. The city also said its revenue was offset by more than $1.379 million in rebates. Sales tax reported in December totaled $2.378 million, up 2.21%.

Fayetteville reported sales tax revenue of $31.762 million for the 12-month reporting period, up 6% from the same time last year. Fayetteville is the largest city in the cohort and still commands the biggest share of total sales tax revenue over its three peer cities. but Bentonville and Rogers are closing that gap. The December revenue totaled $2.624 million, up 1.75% from the year-ago period.

Springdale saw the lowest overall growth for the past 12 months with total revenue of $23.824 million, up 3.31%. The city’s sales tax revenue began to slow in mid-summer and went backward by the fall. The December report showed monthly revenue of $1.963 million, down 2.63% from a year ago. The decline comes on the heels of a 1.77% dip and a 4.17% decrease reported in the prior two months.

REVENUE COMPARISONS
Bentonville
2023: $28.836 million, up 26.56%
2022: $22.785 million, up 8.77%
2021: $20.948 million, up 28.11%

Fayetteville
2023: $31.762 million, up 6%
2022: $29.963 million, up 10.49%
2021: $27.118 million, up 14.7%

Rogers
2023: $29.046 million, up 8.08%
2022: $26.875 million, up 12.97%
2021: $23.789 million, up 15.6%

Springdale
2023: $23.834 million, up 3.31%
2022: $23.061 million, up 20.46%
2021: $19.144 million, up 11.92%