Northwest Arkansas keeps on growing | The Arkansas Democrat - Gazette - Arkansa Best News Source

arkansasonline.com · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Arkansans have become accustomed to good economic news from northwest Arkansas, but the first few weeks of the year were remarkable even by the standards of that corner of the state. January and early February saw these developments:The Milken Institute ranked northwest Arkansas as the best performing large metropolitan area in the country. The nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank evaluated the performance of 411 metro areas, using 13 metrics related to short-term and long-term trends in the labor market, performance of high-tech industries, and shared access to economic opportunities. Northwest Arkansas gained six positions from the 2025 report. The report cited its "thriving labor market anchored by Walmart and several other Fortune 500 companies, along with a robust high-tech sector."On Feb. 3, Walmart became the first retailer to hit $1 trillion in market valuation. A year-long rally has seen Walmart shares rise more than 25 percent, placing the company alongside tech giants such as Alphabet and Nvidia. According to Reuters: "Walmart's ascent has been notable as it has managed to tap into a mix of appealing simultaneously to higher-income customers seeking value and convenience and retaining its core base of lower-income shoppers. The stock has surged 468 percent during the past decade, outpacing the Standard & Poor's 500's 264 percent gain, in part due to that dual strategy, which competitors have struggled to replicate."Walmart moved employees into the 12th and final office building on its new corporate campus in Bentonville, completing the transition from the old campus at Eighth Street and Walton Boulevard. The Upstream Building is the largest on the campus at five stories, and includes a Heroes Coffee outlet. The campus has six coffee shops, including Onyx and Airship Coffee. The 400-acre campus, open to the public, has walking and cycling trails, extensive landscaping, art installations, retail shops and restaurants. The campus is unlike anything this part of the country has ever seen. Upstream is one of the five largest fully mass timber office buildings in the country. About 15,000 employees work on the campus. All lease agreements for campus retail and restaurant space have been signed. They include a Wright's Barbecue restaurant and a Drybar salon, which also opened in January. Retail brand Anthropologie claimed the last business lease. The store will open in the spring and will be the company's first location in northwest Arkansas.The Walton family announced on Feb. 4 that Dr. David Mazyck will be the inaugural president of a private university that will be on the former corporate campus in Bentonville. Mazyck previously headed the School of Engineering Design and Innovation at Penn State. The university will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Mazyck will oversee planning for the four-year institution, which hopes to welcome its first class of students in 2029. He holds multiple degrees from Penn State, including a doctorate in environmental engineering, and has been involved with both public research universities and entrepreneurial ventures during his career.The Runway Group, a real estate development and hospitality firm owned by Tom and Steuart Walton, has begun removing buildings from the former Walmart campus. Almost 7,000 tons of concrete slabs and shallow foundations, along with 900 tons of metal structures, will be salvaged and recycled. In addition to the private university headed by Mazyck, the mixed-used development will include a hotel, multifamily housing, retail space and offices. Much like Walmart's new corporate campus, it will be like a city within the city.Officials at Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) announced that the facility surpassed the number of enplanements at Clinton National Airport in Little Rock for the first time last year, six years sooner than predicted. The number of enplanements at XNA was about 1.26 million in 2025. The airport reached one million enplanements for the first time in 2024. The number of enplanements in Little Rock fell from 1.17 million in 2024 to 1.16 million in 2025. XNA officials are trying to keep up with the growth with expanded parking and baggage claim areas, a new tower for air traffic controllers, a satellite space for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and a children's play area.Following northwest Arkansas in the Milken ratings were Huntsville, Ala.; Charleston, S.C.; Boise, Idaho; Raleigh, N.C.; Provo, Utah; Salt Lake City; Orlando; Austin; Olympia, Wash.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Arlington-Alexandria, Va.Northwest Arkansas has been in the top 15 each year since 2021. The region ranked 12th or above in each of the 2026 report's labor market performance metrics. The report noted that the region has "a strong and growing high-tech sector. ... One potential weakness is its reliance on just a few industries."The region's construction sector grew 49.7 percent from 2019-24. An abundance of construction workers should help as more housing is built in an effort to preserve affordability. Housing affordability has become a key issue in the region. So has income inequality, which has grown in recent years."Nevertheless, with its dynamic labor market, relatively large supply of affordable housing and attractive location nestled within the Ozark Mountains, [northwest Arkansas] looks poised to continue attracting residents in the years to come," the report said.In an October address to the Northwest Arkansas Council, Mervin Jebaraj, executive director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, pointed to housing costs and inadequate infrastructure as potential problems."All the zoning codes in the world aren't going to build more affordable housing if that zoning isn't prepared with new water and sewer infrastructure to go along with it," he said.Of northwest Arkansas' four largest cities, Bentonville has the highest growth rate. It grew 14 percent from 54,200 in 2020 to 61,800 in 2024. In 2010, Bentonville's population was about 35,000. In December, the Bentonville City Council approved taking out a $239 million loan from the Alice L. Walton Foundation to finance expanding its wastewater system capacity. The loan will be repaid by a new fee on developers.Meanwhile, Fayetteville voters will decide next month whether to renew a one-cent sales tax to fund a $375.5 million bond issue that will be used mostly for infrastructure. The bond issue includes $150.5 million for water and sewer improvements.According to Axios: "More housing is needed, but some places in northwest Arkansas effectively have building moratoriums because of a lack of infrastructure like sewage capacity, according to Duke McLarty, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council's housing arm Groundwork. Community Development NWA, a nonprofit that develops income-capped affordable housing, isn't proceeding with plans to develop 120 units in Gentry because of a lack of sewer capacity, director Casey Kleinhenz told Axios."The cost of housing isn't just the cost of the housing unit itself. Cost of living has to take into account other expenses associated with living there like utilities. Bentonville has done research to understand what utility upgrades it needs for its land-use plan and is using the new funding mechanism with the intention of having growth pay for growth. The city is also ramping up quality and inspection requirements for any new water pipes to prevent breaks and leaks as some of its current pipes aren't lasting as long as they should."Rapid growth isn't confined to the region's four biggest cities. Pea Ridge, for instance, had about 6,550 residents in the 2020 census. The city built a sewer plant the following year to give it the capacity to serve 30,000 people. It plans to expand that capacity further in 2032 or 2033. There are now about 13,000 residents of Pea Ridge."We're just trying to be proactive to the growth rather than reactive," said Mayor Nathan See.Farmington's population increased 38 percent from 7,590 in 2020 to 10,470 in 2024. The city has had to turn away companies wanting to develop land in eastern and southern parts of town due to a lack of sewer infrastructure.Wages grew more than nine percent in northwest Arkansas last year, ahead of the national average of just less than six percent and inflation at about three percent. That helped offset rising housing costs.Maggie Switek, lead author of the Milken report, said: "The economy seems to be well balanced across sectors. It's not just that your growth has relied solely on one particular type of activity, and that makes me optimistic about your future.""Consistent, balanced growth without volatility is what put northwest Arkansas at the top of Milken's rankings and what could keep it there," Worth Sparkman wrote for Axios."Through our annual analysis, we track national and regional trends over time to identify policy choices and investments that strengthen economic opportunities for residents of a metropolitan area," Switek said. "We hope the index equips policymakers and local business leaders with evidence-based insights to guide long-term, equitable decisions that benefit all residents."The report noted that northwest Arkansas "ranked 13th or higher in every labor market performance metric, making it one of the strongest labor markets in the nation.""We're intentional about investing in what makes our city thrive," said Fayetteville Mayor Molly Rawn. "We're focused on infrastructure, public services, vibrant public spaces and innovative business development. This recognition highlights a community that believes in strategic investment, data-informed planning for growth and opportunity for all."Switek said northwest Arkansas' ranking illustrates that "a balanced approach to growth drives economic performance. The cooling labor market conditions and rising costs across the country highlight the critical importance of affordabi