Click to visit this member

Why is the greater Eureka Springs area so business-friendly?

• Carroll County, which includes Eureka Springs, was fifth in travel spending per county during 2002, with $165,473,507 in travel expenditures, accounting for 4.2 percent of total visitor spending in Arkansas.
• Even though it is a historical town, Eureka Springs still has plenty of room to grow, and numerous opportunities for seasonal and year-round businesses.
• There are no county-wide zoning regulations outside of each city’s limits, giving businesses the flexibility they need to grow.
• Eureka Springs has no impact fees for manufacturing or industrial use.
• Northwest Arkansas’ main metro, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, was named Best Performing City in 2003 by the Milken Institute.
• Arkansas is a ‘right-to-work’ state with aggressive financial incentives for new and growing businesses.
• Arkansas has both the lowest tax bill and lowest cost of living in the country.
• According to Southern Business & Development Magazine, Arkansas has the number one business climate in the South.

BUSINESS IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

Business is booming in northwest Arkansas. Thanks to the financial power of Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and Tyson’s Foods, the northwest metro area of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville has spurred into a record growth period, causing the area to be named the sixth fasspring growing MSA in the country. The area was also named the Best Performing City in 2003 by the Milken Institute, beating out such noteworthy locations as Las Vegas, NV and West Palm Beach, FL. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA leaped from the 23 rd spot on Milken’s list in 2002 to the number one position because of its economic diversity, job growth and technology output growth. Other factors for the Milken ranking include university presence, government employment, service-based industries and a low dependence on durable goods. In addition to Wal-Mart, approximately 400 to 500 of their vendors have opened offices in northwest Arkansas to better serve the retail giant, bringing with them another boost to a roaring economy.

The largest employers in northwest Arkansas are Wal-Mart, Tyson’s Foods, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Pinnacle Foods, Mercy Health Center, George’s Inc., Superior Industries International and Washington Regional Medical Center.

Tourism is not only vital to Eureka Springs, it’s crucial to the state of Arkansas as well. In 2002, 19,927,392 visitors came to the Natural State, and spent $3,918,987,404, according to figures from Arkansas Parks and Tourism. That shows an increase of 2.8 percent over 2001, a bold achievement during a shaky period in the nation’s economy; when domestic travel spending actually dropped 0.02 percent. Even when adjusted for inflation, the increase still results in a 0.4 percent boost in tourism dollars.

Carroll County was fifth in travel spending per county during 2002, with $165,473,507 in travel expenditures, accounting for 4.2 percent of total visitor spending in Arkansas. The top county was Pulaski (location of state capitol Little Rock) with $969,281,708 and 24.7 percent of the state total; second was Garland County (home to Hot Springs) with $386,923,597 and 9.9 percent. Rounding out the top five were Sebastian County (6.1 percent) with $226,647,310, and Washington County and the Fayetteville area (5.7) with $210,048,586.

Carroll County Tourism Quick Facts

• More than 900,000 visitors spent time in Carroll County in 2002.
• From those visitors, $2,945,454 was generated in local taxes.
• Carroll County was fourth in the top ten counties selected by visitors as their final destination in the state.
• $35,629,391 in payroll dollars was generated in 2002, resulting in more than 3,000 jobs.
• The northwest Arkansas region was number two in the state for travel expenditures with $550,105,778. This region is comprised of Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties. The top region in travel dollars was the five-county Heart of Arkansas area, which includes Little Rock. Total expenditures for that region were $1,080,700,752.
• A 2003 survey of visitors revealed the most popular tourist attractions in Eureka Springs were the downtown Historic District, historic hotels, the trolley system, Great Passion Play, and Thorncrown Chapel.
• While 33 percent of visitors were on their first trip to Eureka Springs, 36 percent were repeat customers.
• 55 percent of visitors stayed 1-2 days, while 37 percent stayed longer. Only 6 percent stayed less than a day.
• Most popular accommodations were: hotel, 43 percent; mid- to large-size motel, 37 percent; bed and breakfasts, 11 percent. All others totaled less than 5 percent.
• Top five most popular shops in Eureka Springs were: souvenir, arts & crafts, antiques, jewelry and apparel.
• 97 percent of visitors made a trip to the downtown Historic District.

BUSINESS IN ARKANSAS

Arkansas is quickly becoming an excellent place to do business. According to Southern Business & Development Magazine, Arkansas has the number one business climate in the South. While the rest of the country is slowly recovering from a weak economy, Arkansas roars ahead with new industry, new jobs and low unemployment. In fact, the state had an 8.1 percent increase in manufacturing employment between 1990 and 2000. Arkansas is a ‘right to work’ state with the lowest tax bill in the country, plus the lowest cost of living. More people moved to Arkansas in 2002 than any other state, according to Allied Van Lines, which named Arkansas its number one magnet state in 2003. Overall, the state is business-friendly with taxation, tax credits and incentives, and training and support services.

The state’s largest employers include some of the biggest names in industry, such as Wal-Mart, Tyson’s, J.B. Hunt, Alltel and ConAgra. Several of these corporations have their headquarters in Arkansas as well.

The top ten employers are:

• The state of Arkansas (Ark. HQ)
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ( Ark. HQ)
• Tyson’s Foods, Inc. (Ark. HQ)
• U.S. Government
• Baptist Health, Inc.
• ConAgra, Inc.
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. ( Ark. HQ)
• Alltel Corporation ( Ark. HQ)
• Whirlpool Corporation
• Beverly Enterprises ( Ark. HQ)

Top ten manufacturing employers include Tyson’s Foods; ConAgra; Whirlpool Corp.; Georgia-Pacific Corp.; International Paper Co.; Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.; OK Industries; Emerson Electric; Superior Industries International; and Weyerhaeuser Co.

Arkansas has five Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state: Alltel Corporation of Little Rock; Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock; Murphy Oil Corp. of El Dorado; Tyson’s Foods of Springdale; and Wal-Mart Stores of Bentonville. There are also 112 parent firms represented in Arkansas from the Fortune 500, and 315 total facilities, and represent a diverse offering of manufacturers, from PepsiCo to Lockheed Martin.

In addition to manufacturing, Arkansas also has a budding industry in information technology. There was an 11 percent rise in info-tech businesses between 1998 and 2000 statewide, and this new industry only shows signs of growing bigger. Tech businesses run the gamut from computer programming, systems and software to data processing and information retrieval. The two largest info-tech companies, Alltel and Acxiom, are headquartered in Little Rock and employ 7,500 workers across the state. For tech research and development, the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville offers the GENESIS technology incubator, which provides office facilities, research laboratories, prototype production and access to the university’s pool of knowledge, including libraries, computers and research experts.

Arkansas also knows that education and technology go hand in hand in this new century. More than 120 Arkansas schools participate in the Environmental and Spatial Technology program, better known on school campuses as the EAST lab. This program uses hands-on experience with technology, such as geographic location systems and cutting-edge software, to produce highly skilled youths in information technology. The Eureka Springs EAST lab has mapped out the entire city and created a user-friendly, geographically accurate 911 response map for the Eureka Springs Police Department using GPS technology and visual arts software.

ECOTOURISM
Once thought to be solely within the realm of exotic destinations like Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, ecotourism and its cousin, adventure travel, is quickly becoming popular in the United States. In fact, these sub-genres are becoming tourism’s fasspring growing sectors as the global tourism marketplace becomes more ecologically aware of the planet’s disappearing resources. The emphasis in ecotourism is on environmental education, allowing small groups of visitors to experience a natural setting without degrading the resources or disturbing the life cycles of wildlife and vegetation.

Arkansas began one of the nation’s first ecotourism programs in 1993 with Ozark Ecotours in Newton County. A financial feasibility study done in 1996 showed that the fledgling program added more than $90,000 in income to the area, and created the equivalent of 3 jobs.

The success of Ozark Ecotours suggests that ecotourism is a highly profitable niche market for the state, and would fit well with natural destinations in the Ozarks and even within the city of Eureka Springs itself. “Soft” ecotourism does not even require pristine natural settings, but can involve the cultural heritage and history of an area, from walking tours to workshops. Although Eureka Springs, and Carroll County, has many natural and historic destinations, to truly tap into the ecotourism market will require widespread community involvement.

Business opportunities abound in the Eureka Springs ecotourism market; current development of hiking trails connecting the community of Beaver to Lake Leatherwood, plus the city’s planned development of the Black Bass Lake Park, means that several services will be needed. Potential businesses could include bike rentals, outdoor supply and outfitters, hiking and history tours, equipment repair and more. Travel any direction from Eureka Springs, and you’ll find a perfect backdrop for ecotourism, from the quiet splendor of the Kings River to the east, to eagle spotting in the winter along Beaver Lake to the west and south. North of Eureka Springs, hikers can watch a heron dip into Table Rock Lake for his lunch, or explore hidden history from another century along the walking trail near the community of Beaver.

• Cost of living
• Crime index
• Gross State Product
• Income and Wages
• Inflation
• Local, Regional and State Unemployment
• Population
• Workforce
• Housing

COST OF LIVING
According to figures tabulated by ACCRA (American Chambers of Commerce Research Association), Arkansas had the lowest cost of living (2002, fourth quarter) in the United States of 45 participating surveyed states and the District of Columbia. Arkansas’ composite rank of 89.5 was taken from figures for groceries (90.2), health care (86.7) housing (80.2), transportation (93.4), utilities (93.9) and miscellaneous (95.4). Index statistics are not available individually for Eureka Springs, but by looking at numbers for the closest MSA to the community in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers for the same time frame, the cost of living is still lower at 91.9 than many entire states, and considerably lower than the national average of 100. For the same time frame, the highest cost of living in the state of Arkansas is in Little Rock-North Little Rock MSA, with 95.1, and the lowest is in the Fort Smith area with 84.4.

CRIME INDEX
Eureka Springs has a very low crime rate of 14 compared to the national average of 100. Overall, Arkansas had a 10.5percent drop in violent crime from 2001 to 2002, and a 4.3 percent drop in property crime. Total arrests were down by 14.3 percent. A major contributor to the security Eureka Springs enjoys is the ten dedicated law enforcement officers of the Eureka Springs Police Department, who not only respond to calls, but also work with the community in youth and anti-crime programs.

GROSS STATE PRODUCT
The total Arkansas Gross State Product for 2001 was 63,701 (representing millions of chained 1996 dollars), a definite increase from the 1991 figure of 46,172. Private industries comprised the largest portion, with 56,073, compared to 39,711 in 1991. Manufacturing was next, with 13,320; Services were 9,571; this category includes hotels and lodging, business services, and amusement and recreation; retail trade was 8,279. GSP is the value added in production by the labor and property located in a state. GSP for a state is derived as the sum of the GSP originating in all industries in the state. Real GSP is simply the GSP data modified to reflect price changes. All data are from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and refer to real GSP (i.e. nominal GSP deflated by a chained price index with 1996 = 100). Gross state product is similar to the concept of state gross domestic product on the income side except that it does not incorporate income and compensation paid to military and government personnel stationed outside the country.

INCOME AND WAGES
Data for Eureka Springs is set with data from Carroll County as well as surrounding counties and the state of Arkansas for comparison. Source data is from the 2000 Census.

Eureka Springs is 55 percent female, and 45 percent male. The largest age group is 45 to 54 years, which accounts for 19.9 percent of the population. Second most populous group was age 35-44, with 14.2 percent. Eureka Springs still has some distance to go for ethnic diversity: 93.9 of the population is white, although that number may change with the next census, due to the growing Hispanic community. In the 2000 census, only 4 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

AVERAGE EUREKAN:

• 46 years old, white, with English, Irish or German heritage.
• member of a family household (either part of a married couple or with children) with only one or two other people.
• Holds at least a high school diploma.
• Works two seasonal tourism jobs.
• Involved in community affairs and charities.
• Is well-read and informed on current events.
• Has a median household income of $25,547 a year.
• Was not born in Eureka Springs, but has lived here at least five years.
• Has likely moved in the last five years.
• Owns a 2-bedroom house with a total of five rooms, heated with utility gas. Home is valued at $96,800, and was built before 1939. Has 15 percent or less costs associated with home (mortgage, bills, etc.)
• If renting a home, has 35 percent or more of household income going toward rent costs.
• Has one auto, drives to work. Has commute of 11.6 minutes.

AVERAGE CARROLL COUNTIAN:

• 39 years old, white, with English, Irish or German heritage.
• Is married and a member of a family household.
• Has a median household income of $27,924 per year.
• Holds a high school diploma.
• Has lived in the same house since at least 1995.
• Owns a five-room house built from 1970-1989, valued at $83,900. Has less than 15 percent costs associated with home. Heats their home with utility gas.
• If renting a home, has 35 percent or more of household income going toward rent costs.
• Has two autos, drives to work. Has commute of 19.7 minutes.

HOUSING
The average cost of a new home in the Carroll County area is $65-75 per square foot, or $128,000-150,000 for a 2,000 sq. ft. home. As of the 2000 Census, the average home in Arkansas was worth $72,800; in Carroll County, $83,900; and in Eureka Springs, $96,800. The higher value of homes in Eureka Springs corresponds to the high number of historic homes (35.5 percent) that were built before 1939.