City, County Start Year With Sales Tax Gains

La Grange and Fayette County both started the new year in positive territory in terms of sales tax revenue. Not all towns and counties in the region were so fortunate.

Sales tax revenue is generally considered a good indicator of overall economic activity for an area.

Three of Fayette County’s seven towns received less sales tax money in January than they had the same month last year. Fayetteville was down 4.8%, Carmine down 16.3% and Schulenburg down 20.6%.

La Grange got $227,331 as its January share of retail sales taxes collected inside its city limits. Taxes collected by merchants in November are sent to the state in December and the state comptroller then rebates them to the cities in January.

Every year since 2020, La Grange has had an “up” month in January compared to the prior year. Compared to other towns in the region, La Grange’s total falls just behind Giddings and just ahead of Yoakum. The Fayette County town starting the year off biggest is Round Top. Its $45,621 for January is up 44.7% from last January, the largest gain of any of the 25 towns tracked by the Record. Fast-growing Lockhart, which is experiencing a housing boom from Austin development, is just behind Round Top at 42.1% growth for January.

Ten of the 25 towns began 2025 with negative sales tax numbers. Schulenburg’s drop of 20.6% was the greatest loss.

Of the nine area counties that collect the optional sales tax, six are up and three are down. Fayette Co. received $279,640 for the month, up 5.1% from last year. Caldwell Co., which includes Lockhart, is up 22.0% for January, the greatest gain among the nine counties. Bastrop Co. is by far the largest retail trade center for the region. Its $771,210 in tax revenue for the month is more than double the next largest, Washington Co., which got $354,514.