Sales tax collections, an indicator of retail activity, continue to trend upward in the Grand Valley.

The City of Grand Junction reported a 5.8 percent increase in sales tax collections in August compared to the same month last year. Mesa County reported a 7.3 percent gain on a year-over-year basis.

Grand Junction lodging tax collections, a measure of hotel and motel stays, advanced 2.5 percent.

August reports reflect July sales.

The city collected more than $5.2 million in sales taxes and received another $975,000 as its share of sales taxes collected by the county and distributed back to municipalities.

The city also collected more than $1 million in sales taxes earmarked for public safety and first responders.

The city collected more than $128,000 in use taxes, a smaller and more volatile source of revenue.

Mesa County collected more than $4.1 million in sales taxes and more than $415,000 in use taxes, nearly all of that imposed on automobiles purchased outside the county, but used in the county.

County tax collections on retail sales topped $2.4 million in August, a 5.5 percent gain over the same month last year.

Sales tax collections rose 28.8 percent for the oil and natural gas category, 19.7 percent in construction and 15.5 percent for manufacturing. Collections edged up a half percent for restaurant meals and hotel stays.

Through the first eight months of 2022, the city collected a total of nearly $50.3 million in sales and use taxes. Sales tax collections rose 10.1 percent compared to the same span in 2021. Use tax collections increased 66.5 percent.

Mesa County collected a total of  nearly $35 million in sales and use taxes through the first eight months of 2022. Sales tax collections rose 10.2 percent compared to the same span last year, Use tax collections increased 9.2 percent.

County tax collections on retail sales topped $19.2 million, a 6.6 percent gain. Sales tax collections also increased on a year-over-year basis for every other industry sector with the lone exception of a 16.5 percent decline in the finance category.

The city collected more than $441,000 in lodging taxes in August. For the first eight months of 2022, lodging tax collections topped $3 million. That was a 33.8 percent increase over the same span in 2021.