Business Environment

Northwest Arkansas Business Advantages
  • Access to markets and suppliers:  located near the geographic and demographic center of the United States.
  • A center of excellence: home to the corporate headquarters of Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hunt Transport Services; Northwest Arkansas is recognized worldwide for leadership and innovation in the retail, food and logistics industries.
  • A growing pipeline of educated talent: The University of Arkansas, John Brown University, the NorthWest Arkansas Community College and several other area colleges have more than 34,500 college students.
  • The right workforce for the 21st century: a growing, diverse regional economy with one of the nation’s highest concentrations of white-collar workers.
  • The lowest overall cost of doing business in the nation: according to CNBC, the tax burden, wages rates, and various operating costs place Arkansas at the head of the list in 2011.
  • The fastest growing population in Middle America: the Northwest Arkansas MSA has grown 35 percent since 2000, and now numbers more than 463,000 residents.