Long Beach sales tax collections hit new highs in July

Long Beach sales tax collections hit new highs in July

Published 4:13 pm Sunday, October 4, 2026

HEADLINE: Long Beach sales tax collections hit new highs in JulyAlong with August, July is typically the peak of the summer tourism season in Pacific County and on the Long Beach Peninsula. Fresh data from the Washington State Department of Revenue shows that local economic activity reached a crescendo during the month this year.

Released last week, the state agency’s monthly figures showed that City of Long Beach sales tax collections hit $113,708 this July, which represents an 8.8% increase from June collections and is also up 8.4% from July 2025.

It’s the highest amount of sales tax revenue that the city has brought in for any month since at least 2015, and coincides with massive crowds that flooded into the city over the July 4 holiday weekend to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Along with providing a key source of revenue for cities and the county, tax collections — namely sales and lodging taxes — are a data point that is used to measure the health of an area’s economy.

July sales tax revenue also came in strong in the unincorporated areas of Pacific County, which includes communities like Seaview, Ocean Park, Chinook, Naselle, Bay Center and Tokeland. Collections totaled $325,759 for the month — down from $330,942 in June, but up 3.7% year-over-year.

The City of Ilwaco’s collections were more subdued for the month, clocking in at $28,235. That figure is up 3.2% from June, but down 18.2% from July 2025.

In north county, the City of Raymond collected $62,086 in sales taxes in July — up a slight 0.5% from June but down 2.6% year-over-year. The $24,089 in sales tax revenue for the City of South Bend was down 4.2% from the previous month but up 4.9% from July 2025.

Lodging taxes

In Long Beach, lodging tax collections also came in strongly. The $179,581 the city brought in for July was up 37% from June and also up 7.7% year-over-year. It was the second-best July since 2015 for the city, trailing only the $210,986 from 2022.

Lodging tax revenue in unincorporated Pacific County hit a new high in July, checking in at $137,229 — an increase of 29.2% from the year prior. It’s the most the county has collected in any month since at least 2015 (and likely ever), topping the previous record of $121,491 in August 2023.

Ilwaco collected $11,957 in lodging taxes for the month, up from $7,855 in June and up 7.8% year-over-year.