Sales tax revenue in top NWA cities up more than 5% in July report

Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale reported cumulative sales tax revenue of $10.224 million in their July reports, up 5.5% from a year ago. Springdale continued to report weaker year-over-year revenue for the seventh consecutive month.

Year-to-date, the four cities had sales tax revenue of $68.076 million, up 1.15% from a year ago. Overall, 2026 has been a slower growth year for sales tax revenue in Springdale, while the other cities show mixed results on a month-to-month basis.

Springdale reported sales tax revenue of $2.221 million in the July report, down 5.75% from a year ago when the city posted a 5.21% sales gain. July was the second-weakest result this year in Springdale. Mayor Doug Spouse said he would sleep better if the sales tax numbers would turn positive in the next few months. He said the first half has been challenging for sales tax revenue, and the city has not experienced that in several years.

“We budget very conservatively, our job numbers are strong, and as of now the city is in good fiscal shape, but it’s hard to grow our budget in 2027 if we can’t turn the corner in the back half of 2026,” he said. “I expect higher gasoline prices are also having some impact on discretionary spending across the region and country as a whole.”

Through July, Springdale reported revenue of $14.643 million, down 3.3% from a year ago. Revenue has been offset by rebates totaling $1.822 million through June. The city’s rebates are trending 16% higher than in the same period last year.

Fayetteville reported sales tax revenue of $2.816 million, up 0.67% compared to gains of 5.4% in the same month last year. Through July, the city reported total revenue of $19.664 million, up 1.57% over the same period in 2025. Revenue has been offset by rebates totaling $2.638 million through June. The city’s rebates are trending 2.3% higher this year over 2025.

Rogers and Bentonville have each had wide swings in their month-to-month results. For the July report, Rogers reported revenue of $3.048 million, up 10.8%, the second best month all year. It compares to gains of 8.24% reported in July 2025, and a 3.17% dip in revenue reported last month. Through July, Rogers reported total revenue of $18.523 million, up 2.07% from the same period in 2025. Rogers has seen its revenue offset by rebates totaling $1.03 million, which are trending 12.8% lower than a year ago.

Bentonville sales tax revenue was $2.237 million, up 18.5% from a year ago when the results were down 14.16%. The July report also rebounded from a 32.13% dip in June. None of the other cities have seen the wide swings as much as Bentonville, including a 310.87% monthly gain reported in May, which countered three earlier months of lower revenue to start the year.

Through July, Bentonville reported total revenue of $15.245 million, up 4.05% from the period last year. Revenue has been offset by $5.114 million in rebates through June. While that is three times higher than the other cities, rebates are down 19% from the same period in 2025.

SALES TAX REVENUE (January – July)
Bentonville
2026:$15.245 million
2025:$14.651 million
up 4.05%

Fayetteville
2026: $19.664 million
2025: $19.36 million
up 1.57%

Rogers
2026: $18.523 million
2025: $18.146 million
up 2.07%

Springdale
2026: $14.643 million
2025: $15.142 million
down 3.3%