By almost every way to look at it, 2024 was a very good year for Arkansas’ economy.
The state’s top individual tax rate was lowered to 3.9 percent – the lowest in a century. The corporate tax rate followed suit and fell to 4.3 percent. Personal income grew faster than the national average and was over $12 billion higher than estimated in the first quarter of 2024.
The state’s GDP grew significantly higher than the national average, even factoring in the volatile farm income component. Arkansas saw growth in nearly every sector, including remarkable growth in construction. The state experienced new jobs from both new and existing companies.
Clint O’Neal serves as the executive director for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), the agency focused on creating economic opportunities in Arkansas and improving the quality of life for its residents. Overall, he’s incredibly proud of the economic growth in Arkansas last year.
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O’Neal said a number of factors are behind the economic uptick in 2024. One he singled out – developing Arkansas’ rural communities to make them more economically attractive. Those efforts by the AEDC and its partners saw businesses expand to nearly every corner of Arkansas.
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The AEDC serves a vital role in reinforcing Arkansas’ status as a business-friendly and economically attractive state. O’Neal highlighted one new program that is helping Arkansas reach that goal through developing industrial sites.
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O’Neal and other economically-minded officials in Arkansas are proud of the work done in 2024, and they’re hopeful to advance those gains in 2025. The state has already marked a significant achievement in the new year with the announcement by Messer of a brand-new, $70 million industrial gas plant in Berryville.
O’Neal believes the trends that made 2024 a great year will continue.
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Find out more about the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the work it does across the state by visiting www.arkansasedc.com.
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