Orleans had biggest sales tax growth in NYS during third quarter

County grew by 12.9 percent or by $700K to help make up for declines in first half of the year

The most recent sales tax collection update from the state comptroller shows Orleans County has the largest percentage increase among the 62 counties in the state.

Orleans grew 12.9 percent during the third quarter, or by $703,000 from $5.66 million to $6.39 million. Orleans is up while other nearby counties experienced a decrease in sales tax during the third quarter: Genesee, down 3.4%; Livingston, down 5.8%; Monroe, negative 3.0%; and Allegany, a drop of 10.2%.

Statewide, sales tax was up 1.4% during the third quarter, with New York City seeing 1.1% growth and the rest of the state up 2.5%.

The 12.9 percent growth in Orleans County is followed by the counties of Rockland (9.3 percent), Hamilton (7.4 percent) and Schenectady (6.9 percent).

The big increase in Orleans County helps make up for declines in the first two quarters of the year. Orleans in the second quarter was down 4.2 percent or about $250,000, from $5.93 million to $5.68 million. In the first quarter the county was down $300,000, from $5.69 million to $5.39 million.

The county now shows a modest growth of about $150,000 in sales tax collections for the first three quarters of the year.

The county has experienced big increases in sales in recent years, which has taken some pressure off property taxes. Orleans County’s sales tax collection went up more than $600,000 in 2023 from $22.46 million in 2022 to $23.10 million in 2022.

Sales tax is up more than $5 million in the county since 2019.

Here are the recent totals for sales tax in the county:

• $23.1 million in 2023
• $22.5 million in 2022
• $21.8 million in 2021
• $19.4 million in 2020
• $17.7 million in 2019