Spending in the city and surrounding counties rose year over year in the first three months of 2026, according to a June 12 report from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The report, based on Virginia Department of Taxation’s Local Option Sales Tax Data, found that the area brought in roughly $1.44 million more in retail sales tax revenue during Q1 of 2026 compared to Q1 of 2025—an 8.85 percent increase.
Some localities saw bigger sales spikes than others. Louisa had the largest increase at 19.24 percent, while Greene posted the smallest, a 4.24 percent hike. Charlottesville reported the second-highest relative increase in year-over-year local sales tax revenue, 13.28 percent, while Albemarle recorded a more middling 5.91 percent revenue boost…