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Sales and use taxes collected by the 123 Houston-area cities that collect them totaled $265.8 million during the first two months of ‘26, down 4.8 percent from the $279.0 million collected in the same period last year. Adjusted for inflation, collections are down 6.1 percent.

These collections, which cover the purchases of both consumers and businesses, are a proxy for broad economic activity in the region. However, the year-over-year decrease shown above should be interpreted with caution, as spending in early ‘25 was boosted by consumers and businesses pulling purchases forward ahead of new tariff policies. While a normalization from ’25, this February’s year-to-date value is still above collections seen in ’23 and ’24, suggesting continued strength in the local economy.

Among the 21 cities in the metro area that collected $2 million or more in taxes through February ‘26, activity is up ten percent or more in six cities, up less than ten percent in nine, and down in six, before adjusting for inflation. Sealy showed marked growth in ’26, with collections jumping dramatically in January and remaining elevated in February. These gains are likely tied to new industrial investments in the area. These 21 cities accounted for 88.1 percent of all sales tax collections during that time.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts releases allocated payments from the sales and use tax monthly. There is a two-month delay between when the tax is collected and when it is allocated. Data for March will be released in May.

 

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research

 

Clara Richardson
Analyst, Research
Greater Houston Partnership
[email protected]

Colin Baker
Manager of Economic Research
Greater Houston Partnership
[email protected]

Economy

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