Northwest Arkansas sales tax revenue higher overall in March report

Sales tax revenue reported in March by the four largest Northwest Arkansas cities indicated that Benton and Washington county consumers continued to spend despite weaker retail sales reported nationwide.

Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale cumulatively reported sales tax revenue of $9.895 million in the March report, up 13.3% from a year ago.

Growth was led by an 80% gain in Bentonville’s revenue compared to the 24.54% decline the city reported a year ago. Bentonville’s revenue totaled $3.117 million, the single largest month of revenue collections in city history. Year to date, Bentonville reports sales tax revenue of $7.889 million, up 25.3% from $6.297 million in the same period last year.

Springdale had the second best results reported in March, with revenue of $2.062 million, up 18% from a year ago. City leaders expect sales tax revenue to grow a conservative 4% to 5% in 2025. Through the first three months of 2025, Springdale’s revenue totals $6.523 million, up 10.05% from the $5.927 million reported a year ago.

Fayetteville reported modest growth of 1.95% in the city’s sales tax revenue, totaling $2.214 million and reversing the 2.52% decline reported a year ago. Fayetteville has seen more conservative growth than its neighboring cities in recent years, but it still accounts for the largest share of sales tax revenue for the region at 27.2%, slightly above the 25.6% for Rogers. Through the first three months of 2025, Fayetteville’s sales tax revenue totals $8.392 million, up 5% from the $7.992 million reported a year ago.

Rogers was the only city in the group to report sales tax revenue decline in the March report, with collections totaling $2.3 million, down 20.33% year over year. Rogers reported a 37.9% revenue growth in March 2024, creating a tough comparison. City finance officials said some large sales by taxpayers included in March 2024 did not reoccur in the March 2025 distribution, and other businesses were down compared to a year ago, resulting in the sales tax decline.

Through the first three months of this year, sales tax revenue reported by Rogers totals $8.006 million, down 1.% from a year ago.

REGIONAL TAX REVENUE (January through March)
Bentonville
2025: $7.889 million
2024: $6.297 million
up 25.3%

Fayetteville
2025: $8,392 million
2024: $7.992 million
up 5%

Rogers
2025: $8.006 million
2024: $8.095 million
down 1.1%

Springdale
2025: $6.523 million
2024: $5.927 million
up 10.05%