Bentonville completed second quarter 2016 with an Arkansas Tech Business Index rating of 107.03, making it No. 1 among the 20 municipalities tracked by the ATBI.
This 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, in a released statement. “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 project created by the Arkansas Tech University College of Business and sponsored by Arvest Bank. It is a comprehensive measure that provides a snapshot of economic activity around Arkansas encompassing labor, housing market, construction and retail sales indices. 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 (104.34), North Little Rock (102.80), Fayetteville (102.14), Springdale (101.72), Mountain Home (100.64) and Hot Springs (100.39).
Benton (99.80), Jonesboro (98.09), Searcy (97.68), Conway (97.60), El Dorado (97.19), Fort Smith (96.96), Van Buren (96.87), Russellville (96.72), West Memphis (96.63), Paragould (96.28), Texarkana (94.77), Pine Bluff (92.68) and Little Rock (90.30) completed the ATBI for second quarter 2016.
Although Little Rock was in the No. 20 spot, it was one of the few municipalities that showed a positive change with a .28 increase compared to the first quarter.
“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, in the statement. “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.”
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