The city of Salina demonstrated robust performance with a 5.3% increase in local sales tax collections from October 2025 sales activity, reaching $1,415,479.51 compared to $1,344,496.00 from October 2024, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue's December 2025 distribution report. Saline County overall posted similarly strong results with a 4.8% gain, collecting $1,785,338.15, up from $1,704,159.29, as both jurisdictions showed solid fall economic activity that rebounded from September's weaker performance.
Salina's $70,983.51 increase represents a significant acceleration from September sales (reported in November), which showed only 0.6% year-over-year growth. The improvement demonstrates that October's consumer activity strengthened considerably compared to the September period, with retailers capturing increased spending during the fall shopping season. The 3.3% month-over-month increase from September's sales ($1,370,762.38) to October's ($1,415,479.51) reflects healthy sequential growth as the region moved deeper into the fall retail period. Saline County's 1.5% local sales tax rate, implemented in April 2021, contributed to an $81,178.86 increase from October 2024 sales, with the county's 2.4% month-over-month gain from September demonstrating consistent strength across the broader region.
Comparing Salina and Saline County's October sales results to neighboring areas highlights the region's competitive fall performance:
- McPherson matched Salina's strong 5.3% growth with October sales collections of $329,996.44, up from $313,386.41 in October 2024, representing improved momentum for a city that struggled through much of 2025. McPherson County posted even stronger 5.8% growth to $793,552.84, suggesting broad-based fall shopping strength across the region.
- Riley County demonstrated modest 2.4% growth to $673,191.46 from $657,311.28 in October 2024, while Manhattan posted minimal 1.4% growth to $2,345,457.00. Both jurisdictions significantly trailed Salina and Saline County's fall performance despite Manhattan's larger university-anchored economic base.
- Dickinson County collected $422,975.35 from October sales, with year-over-year comparisons marked as "n/a" due to rate changes implemented in April 2024. The city of Abilene collected $153,264.42, also marked "n/a" due to its July 2025 rate adjustment.
- Statewide, Kansas recorded 4.0% growth in October sales tax collections to $111,062,711.51 from $106,745,861.12, providing a benchmark that Salina exceeded while Saline County approached closely.
Salina's 5.3% October growth and Saline County's 4.8% increase both outpaced or closely matched the statewide 4.0% average, demonstrating the region's ability to capture consumer spending during the important fall retail period. The strong October performance represents a welcome rebound from September's underwhelming 0.6% and 2.0% year-over-year gains for the city and county respectively, though both jurisdictions still showed positive sequential growth. Salina's October performance matched McPherson's 5.3% showing, while both jurisdictions significantly outperformed Manhattan's 1.4% and Riley County's 2.4% gains during the fall shopping period.
For the full year 2025, Salina posted 4.1% growth with total collections of $17,253,912.60 compared to $16,571,880.70 in 2024, while Saline County achieved 4.0% growth with total collections of $21,695,157.21 versus $20,863,761.02 in 2024. These solid annual results demonstrate the region's economic resilience and continued role as a vital retail center for north-central Kansas.
