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Northwest Arkansas employment These are the major employment categories where Northwest Arkansas residents work. The area includes Benton, Washington and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County, Missouri. Data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistic's 2016 metropolitan occupational employment and wage report. Job Total employment Percent of workforce Average annual salary All occupations 233,110 100% $44,980 Office and administrative support occupations 33,300 14.29% $33,140 Sales and related occupations 26,600 11.41% $39,240 Transportation and material moving occupations 22,440 9.63% $34,710 Production occupations 21,080 9.04% $30,260 Food preparation and serving related occupations 20,680 8.87% $20,940 Business and financial operations occupations 15,900 6.82% $70,960 Education, training and library occupations 14,470 6.21% $49,270 Management occupations 13,500 5.79% $115,830 Health care practitioners and technical occupations 10,910 4.68% $71,940 Computer and mathematical occupations 8,120 3.48% $74,050 Construction and extraction occupations 8,050 3.45% $36,440 Installation, maintenance and repair occupations 7,950 3.41% $41,120 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations 6,650 2.85% $25,060 Personal care and service occupations 6,080 2.61% $22,720 Health care support occupations 4,730 2.03% $27,570 Protective service occupations 3,370 1.45% $38,020 Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations 2,170 0.93% $43,040 Architecture and engineering occupations 2,160 0.93% $64,200 Community and social service occupations 1,510 0.65% $44,370 Legal occupations 1,270 0.54% $99,190 Life, physical and social science occupations 1,190 0.51% $48,650 Farming, fishing and forestry occupations 970 0.42% $28,400 SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics "It's much less of a ques- tion mark and much more of a positive, I think, than it's ever been." Crown specializes in the consumer packaged goods industry, the kinds of com- panies that make things you would see in a grocery store, in a Walmart or in a Target, Collins said. People who work for those compa - nies know Walmart and have worked on Walmart business say good things about the ar- ea, Collins said. "So, the area and all of the growth we've seen, especially in things like educational op- tions, evening entertainment, cultural venues, you take things like Crystal Bridges or the AMP and so many others that 10 or 15 years ago, you just didn't have here," Collins said. "Northwest Arkansas has re - ally put itself on the map and that's not the challenge in our industry." Collins said some pros- pects still express concern about medical care facilities and education. "Obviously, we're making a lot of progress on medical care facilities and hospitals in our area, but when you think about the places we are all fa- miliar with, we're not to that level," Collins said. On the education front, Collins said the region's high schools compare very well. Northwest Arkansas also of- fers more choices than ever for private education. Haas Hall, for example, is consis- tently the number one high school in the state and makes national lists as well. ONE BIG FAMILY Peacock and Steve Clark, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, said cities and counties in the region enjoy a little healthy competition among themselves but they all put the region first. "I don't know that I see it as a competition, per se, but certainly every city is taking up the challenge to make their city as attractive as it can be from re-investment in the downtowns to investments in education," Peacock said. "Every city has its own char- acter and things they offer, so I wouldn't characterize it as a competition, but every city is really working to step up its game in a variety of areas." Fayetteville has the Uni- versity of Arkansas, which is a key part of the culture and what goes on in the city. Springdale, with Tyson Foods, is a little bit different type of community and city, Peacock said. Bentonville, with every- thing that's happening with Walmart, and the investments being made up there, is really coming on, he said. Graham Cobb, president and CEO of the Greater Ben- tonville Chamber of Com- merce, moved to Northwest Arkansas in November and said there's competition but it mostly revolves around not being outdone by your neigh- bors. "We all want to be able to talk about our successes, so if that's competition, maybe it is. But, at the same time, I want great things for Spring- dale and Siloam and Rogers and Fayetteville," Cobb said. "The competition, to me, comes from being the best that each community can be. You look at the five ma- jor cities up here, we all have unique attributes that end up being complementary. In Bentonville, it's no small as- piration for us to try to reach our true potential." Clark prefers to call it "coopertition." "It means you compete and you cooperate and that's what we do. There's some friendly competition among the five bigger cities but it is all based, fundamentally, in cooperation," Clark said. "Nobody will fall on the sword and nobody will aban- don the cause of the region simply for their cause. We laugh and tease, but what we say is we'd love to have you in Fayetteville but we know you're looking at the area and should you decide that we're not your choice, the only mistake you can make is not making Northwest Arkansas your choice. There's some- thing good for you here." Ron Wood can be reached by email at rwood@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWARDW. Jobs v Continued from Page 6V attention of cities looking to expand, city leaders say. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fast- est growing regions in the country, and the fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area anywhere in the south-central region, in- cluding much of Texas, said Sam Harris of Armstrong Bank. Harris, along with fellow Armstrong loan specialists Nathan Hill and Laura Bradshaw, made their remarks in a meeting last year to the Real Estate Inves- tors of Northwest Arkansas. Housing demand spurs development, and developers and investors want city ser- vices for prospective buyers, Harris said. So they tend to develop property near city borders that can easily be annexed, he said. Creating more dwellings within city lim- its can require accommodating residential zoning in traditionally commercial and of- fice areas. Mervin Jebaraj, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the university, said residents of estab- lished neighborhoods often oppose rezon- ing commercial property to accommodate apartment or townhouse projects. Mayor Doug Sprouse of Springdale said the traditional method of city growth is to annex areas, but there are some signs of the type of infill development Jebaraj describes. Rep. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, is a home builder who said the biggest draw to new residents are new schools. Penzo pointed to how the openings of Bernice Young Elementary School and Har- Ber High School west of Interstate 49, along with shopping outlets and a grocery store, clearly and immediately drove up home sales and commercial development, both within and bordering city limits. Cities are drawn to the area between I-49 and the Northwest Arkansas Regional Air- port, and along the roads connecting the airport to the interstate and to the cities, Lindsey said. The area is where Rogers and Bentonville were in dispute. It's a natural growth area because of the improved roads to the airport and suitable land to develop, Lindsey said. "You fly into an airport, and then when you drive out you see a lot of chicken hous- es," Lindsey said. "We're still a rural area." Jebaraj said, "There is plenty of land in Northwest Arkansas, and cities will annex rather than provide city services outside of their city limits." County officials said the trend of new residents moving into towns, and the ten- dency of those towns to grow, will probably mean a major cut into the tax base of their governments. "That's our tsunami," said Russell Hill, Washington County assessor. The U.S. Cen- sus of 2020 is approaching. The results will decide the distribution of county sales tax revenue, which is divided proportionate- ly between cities and the county based on population. The county's share seems certain to go down significantly, Hill said. Counties in Arkansas are constitutionally mandated to provide a number of services to all its residents regardless of how the taxes are split. Providing services such as jails and courts with less money will be a challenge, leaders said. The thriving real estate market is driving up property value and the tax receipts tied to it, Hill said, but that will probably not offset the expected drop in sales tax reve- nue. Benton County Tax Collector Gloria Petersen made the same points. Washington County Collector Bobby Hill estimates, based on population figures taken since the last census, his county will lose $1.5 million of the $6.9 million a year in sales tax revenue it receives now. Doug Thompson can be reached by email at dthompson@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWADoug. v Continued from preceding page ∂ ∂ SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 v 9V www.bvwsonline.com 479-876-2220 31 Cunningham Corner (just west of DQ) YUENGLING AVAILABLE NOW 10am-8pm Mon./Thur. & 10am-9pm Fri. & Sat. P.O. Box 100 1401 E. Main St., Siloam Springs (479) 524-3121 P.O. 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