Bentonville had the No. 1 economy for second quarter 2016 among the 20 municipalities tracked by the Arkansas Tech Business Index, a project created by the Arkansas Tech University College of Business and sponsored by Arvest Bank.
Bentonville completed second quarter 2016 with an ATBI rating of 107.03. It marks the fourth time in the last six quarters that Bentonville has completed a three-month period atop the index.
The seat of Benton County also had the top monthly rating for June 2016 at 107.02. Bentonville has led ATBI monthly ratings 10 times in the last 14 months, including the last three months in a row.
“It is gratifying to know that what we are seeing on a daily basis in Bentonville has been confirmed by independent data,” said Craig Rivaldo, president and CEO of Arvest Bank in Benton County. “Construction starts, new business starts and the general increase in business climate have all contributed to making Northwest Arkansas, which includes Bentonville, the thriving area that it is.”
The ATBI is a comprehensive measure that provides a snapshot of economic activity around the Natural State. It encompasses labor, housing market, construction and retail sales indices. The index is based around 100. A city rating above 100 indicates that the city is currently doing better than the state average from 2009 to the present.
Other municipalities to complete second quarter 2016 with an ATBI rating above 100 were Rogers (2nd, 104.34), North Little Rock (3rd, 102.80), Fayetteville (4th, 102.14), Springdale (5th, 101.72), Mountain Home (6th, 100.64) and Hot Springs (7th, 100.39).
Benton (8th, 99.80), Jonesboro (9th, 98.09), Searcy (10th, 97.68), Conway (11th, 97.60), El Dorado (12th, 97.19), Fort Smith (13th, 96.96), Van Buren (14th, 96.87), Russellville (15th, 96.72), West Memphis (16th, 96.63), Paragould (17th, 96.28), Texarkana (18th, 94.77), Pine Bluff (19th, 92.68) and Little Rock (20th, 90.30) completed the ATBI for second quarter 2016.
“The Little Rock market is one of only five cities in this index that show positive movement in their economy and we interpret that growth as good news,” said Jim Cargill, president and chief executive officer for Arvest Bank in central Arkansas. “We’re confident that Arkansans will continue invest in our state and move the needle to reflect even better ratings in the months to come.”
Visit www.atu.edu/atbi to access the data used to develop the ATBI.
