Reports · Monthly · Aug 2026

Northwest Arkansas, Aug 2026

Local sales-tax receipts across 30 NWA cities (excluding 1 with a likely new or changed local tax) rose 0.9% versus the same period a year earlier. Receipts totaled $28.6M across all 31 reporting cities.

Local sales tax, all reporting cities

$28.6M

▲ 0.9% y/y

→ flat, 4 periods

AR DFA · change on 30 comparable cities · 2026-08

Homes permitted (units)

427

▼ 61.9% y/y

↘ falling, 4 periods

Census BPS · 28 places · 2026-08

NWA employed residents

317,990

▲ 3.5% y/y

→ flat, 4 periods

BLS LAUS via FRED, metro · 2026-08

30-year mortgage, average

6.67%

▲ 8 bp y/y

↗ rising, 4 periods

Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED · 2026-08

Unemployment, NWA vs U.S.3.10% vs 4.10%BLS via FRED, window average

10-year Treasury, average4.68%U.S. Treasury via FRED

CRE loans at U.S. banks$3.13T +3.4% y/yFed H.8 via FRED, 2026-08-26

House prices, NWA metro—FHFA HPI

What happened

generated from the data

Local sales-tax receipts across 30 NWA cities (excluding 1 with a likely new or changed local tax) rose 0.9% versus the same period a year earlier. Receipts totaled $28.6M across all 31 reporting cities.
Among the Core cities, Bella Vista led at +15.4% and Siloam Springs trailed at -7.8%.
The fastest register growth was outside the Core: West Fork at +37.5%.
1 city shows a move large enough to reflect a new or changed local tax rather than spending (Gravette); they are marked in the table and left out of the rankings above.
Builders pulled permits for 427 residential units region-wide, down 61.9% year over year.
The 30-year mortgage rate averaged 6.67% in the period, 8 basis points higher than a year earlier.
Employed residents in the NWA metro averaged 317,990 in the period, up 3.5% from a year earlier.
Momentum at period end (12-month sales-tax growth vs a year earlier): slowing in Bella Vista, Fayetteville, Springdale.
The metro counted 309,400 jobs in August 2026, up 6,800 from August 2025; leisure & hospitality added the most (+3,300), transportation & utilities shed the most (-300) (BLS, preliminary for recent months).

Every sentence above is a fixed template filled with computed values; no figure is typed by hand. Trend arrows compare this period with the three before it of the same length: they describe, they don't forecast. Market commentary, not advice.

Local sales tax by month

31 cities reporting in both years

Arkansas DFA Local Net Tax Distribution Reports, report month. Same cities in both lines.

Data through 2026-08 · Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections

Demand: the registers

local sales tax · vs same period a year earlier

Sales-tax change by city, vs same period a year earlier

Cities with a likely new or changed local tax are left out of this chart

Arkansas DFA Local Net Tax Distribution Reports; change computed from published monthly distributions.

Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections

Supply: homes permitted

Place	Units	Change
Bella Vista	56	+5.7%
Rogers	51	-35.4%
Bentonville	51	-83.7%
Fayetteville	48	-55.6%
Pea Ridge	46	+43.8%
Centerton	33	-51.5%
Siloam Springs	22	-89.6%
Lowell	18	-25.0%
Elkins	18	small base
Springdale	16	-40.7%
Farmington	14	-36.4%
Prairie Grove	14	-39.1%
Cave Springs	10	small base
Gentry	8	-65.2%
Decatur	6	small base
Highfill	5	-73.7%
Tontitown	4	small base
Gravette	2	small base
Avoca	1	small base
Garfield	1	small base
Johnson	1	small base
Little Flock	1	small base
West Fork	1	small base

Census Building Permits Survey, residential units authorized (all building sizes). Places with zero units in the period are omitted; changes off fewer than 10 units show as "small base".

Bentonville permits

map

713 permits issued · $103.5M declared valuation

By our sector tag: residential 399, other 244, retail 66, multifamily 3, civic 1

Largest permits	Valuation	Issued
1100 W 15th Stcommercial building permit	$25.2M	2026-08-19
3500 SE Club Blvdcommercial remodel	$10.3M	2026-08-14
77 S Duncan Aveelectrical permit	$8.8M	2026-08-05
1934 SW 14th Stnew home	$6.9M	2026-08-17
4434 S School Avecommercial building permit	$3.9M	2026-08-19
1702 SE 8th St 2commercial tenant finish	$3.0M	2026-08-21
203 SE Martin Luther King Jr Pkwycommercial remodel	$2.5M	2026-08-21
2801 S Walton Blvdcommercial remodel	$2.1M	2026-08-28
1702 SE 8th St 14commercial tenant finish	$2.0M	2026-08-21
1350 E Joyce Blvd 110commercial building permit	$1.2M	2026-08-06

City of Bentonville permits-issued reports (public record). Valuation as printed by the city. Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville join as their records load.

Economy

Measure	Level	Change
Employed residents, NWA metro	317,990	+3.5%
Unemployment rate, NWA metro	3.10%	window avg
Unemployment rate, U.S.	4.10%	window avg
FHFA house price index, NWA	—	—

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics and FHFA All-Transactions HPI via FRED. Metro = Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO (includes Madison Co. AR and McDonald Co. MO).

Capital markets

Rate or balance	Level	Change
30-year mortgage, average	6.67%	+8 bp y/y
10-year Treasury, average	4.68%
2-year Treasury, average	4.22%
CRE loans at U.S. banks	$3.13T	+3.4% y/y
CRE loan delinquency, U.S. banks	—

Freddie Mac PMMS, U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve (H.8; charge-off and delinquency rates) via FRED. National series: the cost and availability of the money that buys NWA property.

Jobs by industry, Aug 2026 vs Aug 2025

NWA metro, change in jobs · total 309,400 (+2.3%)

BLS Current Employment Statistics, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA, not seasonally adjusted; same month compared with same month. Recent months are preliminary.

Free to reuse with the credit line. · Corrections

New businesses

applications to start a business

Measure	This period	Change
Arkansas, all applications (1 mo.)	3,833	+15.7%
Arkansas, likely employers	1,048	+2.8%

Census Business Formation Statistics: IRS employer-ID applications. Arkansas monthly, seasonally adjusted, compared with the same months a year earlier; county counts are published yearly. Applications are intent, not openings. More on new businesses

Growth patterns

core cities · 12-month sales tax at period end

City	Growth now	A year earlier	Momentum	Share of core 6	A year earlier
Bella Vista	+9.4%	+13.1%	↘ slowing	3.9%	3.6%
Rogers	+3.6%	+3.5%	→ steady	25.2%	24.6%
Siloam Springs	+3.0%	+3.7%	→ steady	5.2%	5.1%
Fayetteville	+2.2%	+5.0%	↘ slowing	26.4%	26.2%
Bentonville	-1.3%	-0.7%	→ steady	19.7%	20.2%
Springdale	-2.9%	+6.5%	↘ slowing	19.6%	20.4%

Growth = the 12 months of local sales-tax distributions to 2026-08 vs the 12 before (Arkansas DFA); momentum compares that rate with the same reading a year earlier (±2 points). Share = each city's part of the core-6 total. More ways to read growth in the Growth Lab.

City by city

31 cities · Core first

City	Sales tax	Change	Homes permitted	Per 1,000 residents	Growth score
Fayetteville	$6.2M	+0.8%	48	0.5	55
Rogers	$5.8M	+6.6%	51	0.7	45
Bentonville	$4.5M	-5.2%	51	0.9	55
Springdale	$4.5M	-6.2%	16	0.2	31
Siloam Springs	$1.1M	-7.8%	22	1.3	46
Bella Vista	$930,938	+15.4%	56	1.9	63
Lowell	$826,699	+6.5%	18	1.8	56
Centerton	$667,191	+5.4%	33	1.8	58
Tontitown	$517,369	0.0%	4	0.9	67
Gravettetax change?	$486,700	+201.1%	2	0.6	44
Pea Ridge	$378,152	+3.2%	46	7.0	80
Eureka Springs	$369,938	-3.0%	—	—	—
Prairie Grove	$368,530	+18.1%	14	2.0	66
Farmington	$354,013	+2.9%	14	1.8	55
Highfill	$259,520	+34.1%	5	3.2	41
Cave Springs	$234,546	+9.9%	10	1.7	70
Johnson	$224,018	+11.9%	1	0.3	70
Gentry	$204,898	+9.1%	8	2.1	55
Elkins	$193,740	+3.2%	18	5.0	48
Greenland	$135,228	+24.6%	0	—	33
Lincoln	$122,733	+0.6%	0	—	34
West Fork	$115,930	+37.5%	1	0.4	14
Goshen	$54,253	+8.3%	0	—	37
Decatur	$53,763	+6.6%	6	3.4	53
Little Flock	$32,553	+22.9%	1	0.3	37
Elm Springs	$30,870	+21.9%	0	—	60
Garfield	$28,091	-0.5%	1	1.7	46
Avoca	$12,655	+4.4%	1	2.1	45
Winslow	$12,258	-0.2%	—	—	14
Sulphur Springs	$11,448	+34.1%	0	—	23
Springtown	$479	-36.4%	—	—	52

Sales tax: AR DFA local distributions in the window; sparkline = the 24 months ending 2026-08. Homes: Census BPS. Per 1,000 residents uses the 2020 census. Growth score is today's 479 Growth Pressure Score, not the score as of this period.

Method and definitions

Local sales tax: What the state distributes back to each city from its local sales and use tax, by DFA report month (about two months after the sale). Changes compare the same cities in both periods.
Tax change?: A city whose receipts moved 40% or more in one period, or 15% a year over several, usually adopted or changed a local tax. It's shown, and left out of rankings and region totals.
Homes permitted: Residential units authorized by building permits, all building sizes (Census Building Permits Survey, place level).
4-period trend: Direction of this period and the three before it of the same length (least-squares slope with a small tolerance). Describes what happened; not a forecast.
Metro: Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO metropolitan area (CBSA 22220).

Cite this report

The 479 Report, "Northwest Arkansas Monthly Report: Aug 2026," https://the479report.com/reports/monthly/2026-08/ (data through 2026-08; generated 2026-11-09).

Free to reuse with that credit. This report as JSON.

Who publishes this. The 479 Report, Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The numbers come from public agencies; commentary is market commentary, not investment, legal or tax advice.

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