A once quiet cattle town tucked into the Ozark foothills in Arkansas is beginning to feel the weight of its own success and is now barely recognizable to the locals who remember its dirt-road past.
What was farmland in Bentonville just a decade ago is now booming real estate full of luxury condos, upscale cocktail bars, and a newly christened tech-and-culture hub – all thanks to the pull of the world’s largest retailer.
Walmart, headquartered in the town since the 1970s, has transformed the northwest Arkansas town, with a population of about 60,000, into a magnet for newcomers, capital, and culture.
With a shimmering 350-acre corporate campus rising in the heart of the city and thousands of employees relocating from Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto, Bentonville has become the epicenter of an unlikely boom earning it the nickname the ‘Austin of the Ozarks.’
But now, the very forces that fueled Bentonville’s rise are beginning to wear thin.
Rapid development, spiraling home prices, traffic congestion, and a growing gap between wages and living costs have triggered fresh doubts about the city’s long-term appeal.
For many longtime residents – and even some newcomers- the shine may be starting to fade.
Previously dubbed the new ‘capital of cool’ and once associated with little more than rolling pastures and a modest red-brick headquarters, Bentonville now boasts a booming population, chef-driven restaurants, and a real estate market that has left local residents stunned.
Walmart, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas since the 1970s, has transformed the northwest Arkansas town into a magnet for newcomers, capital, and culture
Part of the draw was the affordability of the place, the availability of jobs and the natural beauty of the area. Pictured, Bentonville Square in the springtime
Countryside and a slower way of life has been replaced with craft cocktails, bohemian coffee shops and a $255-a-month exclusive social club with a waitlist.
Part of the draw was the affordability, the availability of jobs and the natural beauty of the area, but the city’s rapid growth has sparked concern among longtime residents.
That ‘bargain’ mentality which drew people to the town has now collided with a limited housing inventory, triggering a sharp rise in prices and reshaping the region’s housing landscape.
According to Realtor.com, the median list price in Benton County rose to $447,313 in February – up nearly 50 percent from five years ago.
On a per-square-foot basis, prices have climbed 68 percent since early 2020.
Traffic congestion, environmental pressure, and a growing gap between housing costs and wages have radically changed the city’s identity.
While Walmart’s average US employee earns about $27,640 per year, executives at headquarters will likely be on substantially more while store employees have to grapple with high living costs on a lower wage.
A sit-down dinner in downtown Bentonville, one Walmart employee noted, costs as much as it might in Miami.
The city’s median household income sits at $99,000, nearly double the state average, but that figure masks a widening divide between corporate newcomers and local residents.
Either way, developments are continuing with luxury apartment complexes rising making a city that was once overlooked feel overloaded.
Arkansas became the number one destination for interstate movers in 2024, according to data from Atlas Van Lines and nowhere is the surge more visible than in Bentonville, where people have relocated from California, Texas, New York and even Austin.
Bentonville now boasts a booming population, chef-driven restaurants, exclusive social clubs, and a real estate market that has left local residents stunned
Downtown Bentonville, Arkansas with the Walmart Museum and the original Walton 5-10 store
‘We have had an influx from Austin,’ said Stephanie Funk, a luxury real estate adviser with Engel & Völkers. ‘People see this as Austin before it got too big… It reminds them of Austin in the ’90s or 2000s.
‘It’s not our native Arkansans that are buying $3 million homes; it’s the people that are moving in that really see it as almost a bargain. Locals are like, “$3 million, are you kidding me?”‘, said Funk to Realtor.com.
In 2013, just 14 homes in Bentonville sold for more than $1 million. In 2023, that number surged to 244, according to local realtor Kristen Boozman, and it is Walmart’s expanding influence that has been central to the transformation
The retail giant employs more than 15,000 corporate workers in Bentonville and is reshaping the city with its state-of-the-art headquarters campus.
The new facility includes wellness centers, trails, child care, and food halls – all designed to lure top-tier talent and position the company for the next generation of retail.
Gleaming glass and steel buildings have replaced the company’s original 1970s brick bunker, symbolizing Bentonville’s evolution from a sleepy Southern town to a modern corporate and cultural hub.
More than 1,300 Walmart suppliers have also planted roots in the area including Nestlé, Unilever, and PepsiCo, each bringing with them high-paying jobs and waves of new residents.
Gleaming glass and steel buildings have replaced Walmarts original 1970s brick bunker, symbolizing Bentonville’s evolution from a sleepy Southern town to a modern corporate hub
The retail giant employs more than 15,000 corporate workers in Bentonville and is now reshaping the city with its state-of-the-art headquarters campus
The giant grocer knocked down the existing buildings to replace them with 12 new office buildings, several amenity buildings, parking decks and green space. (pictured: A rendered version of the future Walmart headquarters)
Bentonville, Arkansas, about three hours outside of Little Rock, has gone from a quiet, cattle-filled city to a trendy hub filled with amenities found in major cities like New York and Austin
The old red and white ford truck that belonged to Sam Walton is seen parked in front of first Walmart store which now serves as a corporate museum near the Arkansas headquarters
The economic ripple effect has also spawned a vibrant startup scene and a small tech boom, especially in retail innovation.
‘There are a lot of vendors to the vendors who are creating solutions around retail,’ Funk explained. ‘Some very smart people are creating important retail technology tools around here.’
Indeed, Bentonville has been dubbed a ‘Jetson-like test market’ by Axios for Walmart’s experiments with drones, driverless trucks, and futuristic logistics systems.
It means Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country with its population having jumped more than 25 percent since 2010. It is projected to hit nearly 1 million inhabitants by 2045.
Aside from economic growth there has also been a cultural shift.
Bentonville is now home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, founded by Walmart heiress Alice Walton.
Court House in Bentonville, Arkansas, on the downtown square
The Bentonville Film Festival, founded by actress Geena Davis, celebrates diversity in film, with a sleek new cinema to showcase the movies
The Walton family who founded Walmart have invested millions in creating hundreds of miles of mountain biking trails that crisscross the region
The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that opened in 2011 has become a major tourist draw in Bentonville, Arkansas, with free admission and a collection worth $1.7 billion
Its $1.7 billion collection includes works by Norman Rockwell and Georgia O’Keeffe, and it draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year with free admission.
Nearby, the Bentonville Film Festival, founded by actress Geena Davis, celebrates diversity in film, with a sleek new cinema to showcase the movies.
Theater, nightlife, and dining have taken root, from wood-fired pizza spots to underground speakeasies.
Even outdoor recreation has been redefined. The Walton family, which still owns nearly 50 percent of the retail giant, has poured some of that fortune back into the area, including funding the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art that opened in 2011.
The family have also invested millions in creating hundreds of miles of mountain biking trails that crisscross the region.
Seventy-five years earlier, Sam Walton opened a five-and-dime store in Bentonville.
His family’s name is now etched on museums, trails, campuses, and cultural institutions that have turned Bentonville into a magnet for those looking to start anew.
:focal(0x0:3200x1820)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/40695a9e2493dfe7179bcadf4efe9d63/0324%20Faculty%20Council%20LW%20-%20CROPPED%2002.jpg "Interim UT-Austin president seeks to walk fine line between faculty and lawmakers’ concerns")
