Most Rio Grande Valley cities see sales tax gains through July 2026

Most cities across the Rio Grande Valley reported higher sales tax allocations through July 2026 compared to the same time frame in 2025, according to data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 

Overall, the 42 different cities collected $250 million in sales tax revenue through July, up $11.5 million over the year, for an increase of about 4.8% so far. 

In general, larger cities maintained the strongest revenue bases, and smaller communities experienced greater volatility. That’s because the addition of a new Walmart, Home Depot, or even a few new retail stores in a smaller community can skew the percentage increase in revenue more than the addition of similar stores in larger communities. 

As such, the city of McAllen grew by 7.16% over the year to $63 million through July; Pharr grew by 5.4% to $19 million; Brownsville grew by 4.4% to $38 million; Harlingen grew by 3.6% to $22 million, Weslaco grew by 3.14% to $12.9 million, Mission grew by 2.8% to $17.6 million, and Edinburg saw a decline of 5.8% to $24.5 million. San Juan grew by 9.1% to $4.6 million through July 2026. 

By contrast, the community of La Grulla saw a 116% increase in sales tax payments totaling $176,892 through July. 

Sales and use taxes are a key economic indicator — not just for retail stores, but also for the value of materials used in construction projects. The state collects taxes and allocates them back to municipalities, where they help fund operations and economic development efforts.

The city of Port Isabel continues to outpace South Padre Island in sales tax revenue, as visitors pass through the port city to reach the island, and there has been significant industrial construction nearby at the Port of Brownsville. 

There is also a dredging business in Port Isabel that did some contract work for the Port of Brownsville Ship Channel project, economic development leaders told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal, but the city is not sure why Port Isabel is seeing such gains. 

Another caveat is that while total sales tax revenue has increased, that could be in part due to higher prices at the cash register as products have gotten increasingly expensive overall over the past decade. 

Port Isabel saw its sales tax payments hit $3 million in July, up 28% over the previous year, while South Padre Island generated $2.8 million so far, only a 3.6% increase over the year. 

The Willacy County cities of Lyford and Raymondville saw jumps too — 28% and 19.5% respectively, topping $165,595 and $1.2 million. There’s a growing data center cluster under construction near those two cities which may account for some of those gains. 

In Starr County, Rio Grande City grew by 12.8% over the year to $4.1 million in sales tax revenue through July.  In Roma, further west in Starr County, sales tax revenue grew by 1.2% to $1.1 million.