OKLAHOMA CITY – Sales tax collections for most cities in the southwest part of Oklahoma dovetailed a flat growth trend in revenue for the state, which triggered some municipalities to cut spending.
The state experienced a 0.2% growth in sales tax revenue, according to a report from the Oklahoma State Treasurer’s Office. From the state’s largest city to small towns, revenue fell below expectations.
Lara Blubaugh, spokesperson for the State Treasurer’s Office, pointed to national economic trends’ effect on the state’s coffers.
“Nationally, Oklahoma faced challenges from elevated tariffs and higher borrowing costs that limited stronger growth, but low unemployment and a diversified economy helped keep revenues steady,” she said in an email.
City managers, finance directors and mayors who spoke with Southwest Ledger also pointed to the effects of the Trump administration’s tariff war on an uncertain economy as the reason consumers are spending less. Cities rely primarily on sales tax revenue to fund municipal operations but also depend on use tax and fees for its total budget.
The drop in revenue prompted Oklahoma City to implement budget cuts to most of its departments, as did Lawton, records show. Others in the southwest region of the state reported a drop or only slight increases in collections, and with few exceptions, forecast marginal growth or flat revenue for fiscal year 2026.
Spokesperson for Oklahoma City, Kristy Yeager, said the finance department believes there are several factors that have chilled spending, including personal debt.
“There is speculation that residents’ personal balance sheets have more credit card debt on them, so perhaps they are cutting back on new purchases, and that some are taking a wait-and-see approach on their spending based on federal level activity,” she said in an email.
Yeager also said inflation has come down, and lower product prices means revenue dropped, too.
Sales tax collections fell from $326,497,962 to $324,873,829, $8 million less than projected for 2025 or half a percent from the previous year, Yeager said. Lawton Lagging collections also triggered some department cuts in Lawton, said spokesperson Caitlin Gatlin.
Budget projections for 2025 were an optimistic 3% sales tax growth, but actual collections came in at a loss near 5%, she said.
“The root causes of Lawton’s underwhelming sales tax collections this year are a mismatch between optimistic revenue projections and real-world economic performance, amplified by a broader slowdown in household spending statewide,” Gatlin said. “The city responded by reducing spending plans, reprioritizing budget items and growing more cautious in forecasting.”
The city’s budget forecast for 2026, however, shows it expects to collect $30.3 million in sales tax, up from 2025’s actual collections of $27,021,782, or 11%.
Gatlin said their projection is in some part due to its PROPEL 2040 Capital Improvement Plan, a bond program that will fund numerous quality of life projects. The city also expects new commercial developments and growth at Fort Sill Army Base to help drive up revenue for the city.
Still, city leaders will monitor for declining revenue and adjust the budget throughout the coming year, Gatlin said. Chickasha A sales tax report on the city of Chickasha’s website shows their sales tax collections were up slightly from $15 million to $15.8 million. Spokeswoman Shae Mortimer said in an email while overall revenue dipped below initial expectations, expenditures also came below budget. The city’s sales tax forecast for 2026 is $17.9 million.
The city provided no further comment and Mayor Zach Grayson did not respond to a request for an interview. Duncan Unlike many cities, Duncan’s fiscal year runs January to December. Its projections for the current fiscal year, with five months remaining, are on track to collect $17.7 million, down slightly from $18 million.
City Manager Chris Deal wasn’t surprised. In an emailed statement he said city leaders planned and budgeted for a downturn of up to 3%. The less than 2% drop in revenue won’t affect the city’s budget, his statement indicated.
While its 2026 projections are not complete, Deal said the local economy remains strong and within current projections.
“As to the future of the collections and our local economy, I am optimistic, as Duncan serves as a retail hub for an outlying area with a population of 44,000 people,” he stated.
Altus, Geronimo, Cache and Elgin Most small towns surveyed did not escape the drop in revenue.
Altus City Manager Gary Jones echoed the tariffs’ chilling effect on local consumers’ spending habits.
“A lot of people are really leery of the economy and are wondering what’s going to happen with the tariffs,” Jones said.
The city’s revenue came in flat, with less than 1% growth, from $13.1 million to $13.4 million.
Sales tax revenue for the coming year is expected to be flat, Jones said, but collections might hit an uptick with a new business coming to town and tourism efforts underway.
“We have a Dunham sporting goods store coming in, which we’re hopeful will help,” he said. “Our Freedom Festival, the week before the Fourth of July, the numbers attending that were up significantly. We’ve got sand, the beach, at the reservoir and we’re starting to see a little more activity around that.”
Geronimo’s sales tax collections were down from $144,741 in 2024 to $131,501 this year. The town has adopted a slight increase for next year of $132,506. Attempts to reach Mayor Adam Hartle were unsuccessful.
Cache’s collections for sales tax were down from $826,241 last year to $707,682 this year. And while use tax helped shore up that loss, the council cautiously adopted a budget with flat sales tax projections for fiscal year 2026, Mayor Scott Brown said.
Brown, who operates Titan Pest Control throughout the southwest region, said he continues to hear a familiar story about how residents are doing financially.
“I think a lot of it is people are nervous about the economy, so they’re not spending as much,” he said. “A lot of the sales tax base that we get is a lot of online orders. With people’s grocery bills $150 higher, they’re not spending as much money on Amazon, they’re not shopping online as much as they normally would because they just don’t have the money.”
Elgin’s revenue rose slightly from $2,136,592 last year to $2,142,524. Mayor JJ Francais said the city budgets 90% of the previous year’s collections, or around $2 million for 2026.
“I’m optimistic,” Fran-cais said, noting that the city continues to see housing and commercial growth, with new businesses having opened this year and more to come in the next.
A combination of significant housing and business expansion will fuel sales tax revenue, he said.
“Without some new business, I don’t think we (cities) will see dramatic growth,” Francais said. “We can welcome a new business; we can be more pro-commerce and free market and grow, but it takes a lot of people to considerably grow our tax base.”