Sales tax collections held steady in Mesa County in January as gains in some sectors offset losses in others.

Sales tax collections similarly kept pace in Grand Junction for 2023 compared to the year before.

Mesa County collected nearly $4.6 million, a tenth of a percent more than collections for the same month a year ago. January collections reflect December sales and a portion of the holiday shopping season.

The county collected another $1.7 million in sales taxes it distributed to cities and towns — $1 million to Grand Junction, $316,000 to Fruita, $221,000 to Palisade and almost $95,000 each to Collbran and De Beque.

The City of Grand Junction collected almost $46.3 million in sales taxes for its general fund in 2023, about $99,0000 and two-tenths of a percent more than what was collected in 2022.

The city also received more than $10.8 million as its share of county sales tax collections, up 1.3 percent.

Mesa County collected nearly $2.8 million in taxes on retail sales in January. That’s almost $45,000 and 1.6 percent less than the same month last year. Declines in the sales of automobiles, general merchandise and sporting goods more than offset gains in the sales of clothing and home improvements.

The county collected more than $1.8 million in taxes on sales in other industry categories, a 2.8 percent increase over the same month last year. Collections increased in the hotel and restaurant, manufacturing and rental categories, but decreased in the construction, oil and natural gas and utilities categories.

Use tax collections — most of them on automobiles purchased outside the county, but used inside the county — rose 14.3 percent on a year-over-year basis to $354,450.

The City of Grand Junction collected more than $17.3 million in sales taxes for its capital improvement fund, almost $11.9 million for its first responder fund and more than $1.3 million for a new community recreation center.

Use tax collections, a smaller and more volatile source of revenue for the City of Grand Junction, totaled almost $1.2 million for the general fund in 2023. That was an increase of more than $271,000 and 29.5 percent from 2022.

Lodging tax collections, a measure of hotel and motel stays in Grand Junction, totaled nearly $4.6 million in 2023. That was a gain of $429,000 and 10.3 percent from 2022.