A recent Iowa State University report shows a third consecutive year of increases in the number of businesses reporting sales tax in both Carroll and Carroll County, despite a decrease in populations for both since about 2011. Carroll County had 867 firms reporting more than $604 million in sales, while the City of Carroll had 517 firms with a total of $241 million in sales. The closest Carroll County communities in 2017 retail sales were Manning with 76 firms reporting $15.1 million in sales, Coon Rapids with $10.8 million in sales from 63 firms and Breda, who reported 36 firms with sales topping $10 million. The report says the population decline is seen in other communities and counties of like size, but Carroll continues to see wage and salary increases for the area. Carroll County has a worker inflow of 4,458 people, mostly from Crawford, Greene and Sac Counties, and an outflow of 4,362, mainly to Polk, Crawford and Woodbury Counties.
