ISU Releases 2017 Trade Analysis Report for Carroll County and Area Communities

Iowa State University’s Iowa Community Indicators Program (ICIP) has released their detailed analysis of the retail sales and economic trends for communities and counties throughout the state of Iowa.

“Too often we get bogged down locally that we don’t have an opportunity to look at the bigger picture, unless someone points it out to us. Here we have actual data telling us that in Carroll County last year we saw over $304 million in retail sales. That’s something to be proud and take note of,” says Shannon Landauer, Executive Director of the Carroll Area Development Corporation.

The data collected and analyzed is based on state-reported sales of goods and services that are subject to Iowa’s statewide sales tax. Communities and counties often use this data in local decision-making, policy development, and strategic planning processes. Data is broken down to two different levels, both the community and county level, and reported annually by fiscal year. The most recent report highlights the 2017 Fiscal Year (FY), which began on July 1, 2016, and ended on June 30, 2017.

Statistics from the most recent report show:

• Carroll County has 867 firms reporting a total of $604,694,542 in sales
  • Carroll (population 9,948) had 517 firms reporting a total of $241 million in sales
  • Following Carroll, the next three Carroll County communities with the greatest ’17 retail sales are:
    • Manning (pop. 1,459) reported 76 firms and $15.1 million in sales
    • Coon Rapids (pop. 1,262) showed $10.8 million in sales from 63 firms
    • Breda (pop. 473) reported $10.1 million in sales with 36 firms
• The number of firms reporting sales tax in both Carroll and Carroll County are up for the 3^rd year in a row
• Comparatively speaking, neighboring counties have reported retail sales of $35 million to $129 million for the same time period

The reports go on to show population decreases in Carroll and Carroll County, since approximately 2011, matching peer community and county trends. Meanwhile, the report indicates continued wage and salary increases for the area.

Looking at the influx of commuters in and out of Carroll County on a regular basis, the report recognizes that the county sees a worker inflow of 4,458 people, and an outflow of 4,362. The inflow comes from neighboring Crawford (4%), Sac (3%) and Greene (3%) Counties. Those commuting outside of Carroll County for employment are heading to Polk County (5%) as well as Crawford (3%) and Woodbury (2%) Counties.

For a complete look at the 2017 Carroll County Retail Trade Analysis visit www.carrollareadev.com/retail-trade-analysis. In addition to the Carroll County Analysis, this site also provides information and reports for each of the communities located in Carroll County.