Fort Smith had the strongest economy of any Arkansas city tracked by the Arkansas Tech University College of Business last year, according to new figures released Tuesday.
The college tracks 17 cities across the state and compiles an Arkansas Tech Business Index that takes into consideration labor, housing market, construction and retail sales data. A score is determined for each city, with those above 100 showing the city is "currently doing better than the state average from 2009 to the present," according to a news release.
Fort Smith led all cities with a score of 106.67. Also scoring above 100 were Fayetteville (105.23), Bentonville (104.56), Springdale (104.16), Van Buren (103.45), Rogers (103.44), Conway (103.09), Searcy (102.58), Jonesboro (101.5) and Hot Springs (100.78).
Little Rock had a score of 97.4, while North Little Rock had a score of 95.75.
The college reported on its website that Fort Smith made gains in December as a "result of a strong retail sector."