Jonesboro on track to set all-time yearly sales tax collections record, though budget still lags

The city of Jonesboro is still easily on pace to smash it’s all-time sales and use tax collections record, but it’s still lagging when it comes to projected budget totals for the year.

During the month of October, the city tallied $2.228 million in collections, a 2.9% ($61,000) uptick from the same month last year, according to City Hall records.

Year to date, the city has collected $21.946 million, a 4.6% ($968,000) gain when compared to the first 10 months in 2022.

However, the city’s projected budget, based on anticipated collections, is down. The city projected that it would collect $26.995 million for the entire year, and currently that projection is a little more than 2.4% off, or $540,000.

Sales tax figures lag by 60 days meaning the numbers released were collected two months prior. Economists consider sales tax collections as a leading economic indicator, one that can show how a local economy can be expected to perform in the short-term.

Northeast Arkansas’ hub city has a diversified workforce that has helped it to withstand national economic downturns in recent decades, according to officials. That diverse mix of jobs include healthcare, manufacturing, government, retail, agriculture and others. The city also is a hub for those in surrounding counties seeking healthcare, and Arkansas State University is the region’s largest university and employer.

Craighead County collected $2.543 million during the month, a 4% increase when compared to October of last year.

For the year, the county has tallied $24.93 million in sales and use taxes which is still on target to beat the record of $28.275 million that was collected in 2022.