Skip to main content

Our Work

Economic Development

With the headquarters of Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Simmons Foods, America’s Car Mart and PAM Transportation, there’s already a strong pool of corporate talent in our region.

Add in the pipeline of 37,000 students who attend our colleges and universities, and you’ve got burgeoning scenes in CPG, logistics, education, IT, health care and corporate services.

Cost is a major consideration when a company chooses a state. In 2022, Arkansas was cited by CNBC as having one of the nation’s lowest overall costs of doing business. CNBC looked at the tax burden, including individual income and property taxes as well as business taxes, utility costs, wages and rental costs for office and industrial space. This gives Northwest Arkansas a competitive edge in the world market. The Northwest Arkansas Council leads the regional economic development efforts to foster the growth of investment and job opportunities.

Learn More

Some key initiatives include:

Data Collection

Gathering information helps benchmark where we are and focus where we are going as it relates to our demographics, academic opportunities and businesses.

Site Selection

The Council partners with site selectors to actively attract new businesses and collaborate on location planning.

Financial Incentives

In 2022, Arkansas was cited by CNBC as having one of the nation’s lowest overall costs of doing business. As companies think through basing their headquarters here, we assist them in projecting the economic benefit of doing so, including exploring tax incentives.

Special thanks to our major investors for their support of the Northwest Arkansas Council and our work in the region: