The Mountain Home Area enjoys a well-balanced economy without compromising a small community atmosphere. There are six main components to our economy:

• a diverse base of employers including large manufacturers
• a strong retail market attracting customers from seven surrounding counties
• a nationally-known tourism market
• a stable, relatively affluent retiree/senior population
• a regional provider of health care services
• a progressive network of telecommunication and transportation services

The Mountain Home Area serves as the trade and employment center for the north central region of Arkansas and is an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE). Approximately 63,000 people reside within a 30-mile radius of Mountain Home (seat of Baxter County). The area supports several shopping centers.

A number of nationally-recognized industries operate in the Mountain Home Area:

• Eaton, a subsidiary of Trinova Corp.
• Epoxyn Products, Inc., a subsidiary of Fisher Scientific
• the world's second-largest facility of Baxter Healthcare Corp., a subsidiary of Baxter International, Inc.

We're also home to a number of home-grown industries such as:

• American Stitchco
• Bass Cat Boats
• Full-Boar Manufacturing
• Ranger Boats, and others.

Although we are considered a rural area, sophisticated telecommunications services and ample shipping services allow many area businesses to conduct business around the world.

If you are interested in locating a business here, please call the Chamber of Commerce at (800) 822-3536 or (870) 425-5111 or request our "Experience Mountain Home" Business Recruitment Packet produced for business and industry.

The Mountain Home area is served by three telephone companies - CenturyTel, Northern Arkansas Telephone, and Yelcot Telephone - offering quality telecommunications services, including some of the most sophisticated available. Fiber optic technology, hi speed Internet, ISDN, CLASS and Custom Calling features are available in many portions of the Mountain Home Area.

Providing electrical service are Entergy, Inc. and North Arkansas Electric Cooperative; natural gas service, Arkansas Western Gas; cable TV, Suddenlink Communications; water and sewer services, inquire at city halls; and garbage pickup and recycling, Naborsand IESI.

While providing the necessities of modern life, local utilities personnel often fill a leadership role in the development of a community. That has been the Arkansas tradition for years. Here, the telephone companies are becoming sources for advanced computer-based communications with Internet and ISDN, etc., and a sanitation company is managing a highly-successful recycling program. The people of the area utilities are active in community development because they know its importance, seeing it first hand, every day.

If the value of a typical Mountain Home residence is $80,862, the annual tax is $634 (that includes county road, general, library and college levies, and city and school district levies). The state sales tax is 6%, county is 1%, and most cities collect a 1% sales tax. For more information on real property taxes, personal property taxes, and other tax questions in the Mountain Home Area, call: Baxter County Assessor (870) 425-3453, Baxter County Collector (870) 425-8300, Marion County Assessor (870) 449-4113, Marion County Collector (870) 449-6253, or Arkansas State Revenue Department (870) 425-2571.