Crawford County leads region in sales tax revenue gains in early 2025
by June 13, 2025 1:43 pm 247 views
Sales tax revenue in four western Arkansas counties that are part of or adjacent to the Fort Smith metro is off to a slow start in 2025 with the exception of Crawford County which has a more than 17% gain in the first quarter.
Sales tax revenue in Crawford County totaled $3.428 million in the first quarter (January-March) of 2025, up 17.5% compared with $2.917 million in the same period of 2024, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA). Sales tax revenue primarily reflects economic health through consumer and business spending.
The first quarter numbers for all counties are the most recent available from DFA as of June 13.
Sebastian County sales tax revenue in the first quarter totaled $8.524 million, down 1% compared with $8.602 million in the same period of 2024. Franklin County sales tax revenue in the first quarter totaled $1.442 million, up marginally at 0.06% compared with the same period in 2024. First quarter Logan County sales tax revenue was $1,620,676, almost unchanged compared with $1,620,577 in the same period of 2024.
Franklin and Logan counties have posted significant sales tax revenue gains in the past five years. Logan County sales tax revenue in 2024 was $6.576 million, up 22.6% compared with $5.362 million in 2020. Logan County has a 2% sales tax rate. Franklin County sales tax revenue in 2024 totaled $5.444 million, up 32.6% compared with $4.106 million in 2020. Franklin County also has a 2% sales tax rate.
Sebastian County sales tax revenue in 2024 totaled $35.952 million, up 3.8% compared with $34.634 million in 2020. The county has a 1% sales tax. Fort Smith’s portion of the Sebastian County 1% sales tax through April is $8.057 million, down 1.59% compared with the $8.187 million generated through April 2024. The tax brought in $24.49 million for Fort Smith in 2024, 0.95% lower than 2023.
Crawford County is the only county among the four to post a sales tax revenue decline in the five-year period, but that is because the sales tax rate was lowered in 2021 from 1.75% to 1.25%. The county’s sales tax revenue in 2024 was $13.524 million, down 11.3% compared with $15.239 million in 2020. The 2024 total is up 1% compared with 2022, the first full year of the lower tax rate.