MCALLEN, Texas - The City of McAllen has commissioned economist Belinda Román, Ph.D., to do an economic review for Q1, 2026.
Román is an associate professor of economics at St. Mary's University. Before joining St. Mary's, Román was professor of economics for Palo Alto College in San Antonio.
“We’re proud to launch a new Economic Dashboard and Quarterly Economic Review featuring insights from Dr. Belinda Román,” said Rebecca Olaguibel, director of retail and business development for the City of McAllen, in a post on her social media pages.
“Explore important community and economic indicators including sales tax performance, construction data and more — all designed to support informed decision-making, economic insight and investor confidence. Invest in a city that invests in you.”
Román frequently consults on policy and economic questions presented by various departments within the City of McAllen that are specific to the city's position on the U.S.-Mexico Border. She has collaborated on work with the Brookings Institute-Global Cities Initiative and is presently working with the University of Texas Health, School of Public Health. Her most recent research focuses on the impact of Type II Diabetes on Workforce Participation, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Román is president of the Texas Economics Consortium and past president of both the Association for Social Economics and the San Antonio Business and Economics Society (SABES). She also serves as editor of the Hispanic Economic Outlook newsletter for the American Society of Hispanic Economists.
Prior to academia, Román worked in Latin America as administrative director for the Electrification for Sustainable Development project, on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House of Representatives, and in London for both non-profit and for-profit entities.
Román is a fellow of the NSF-funded Diversity Initiative for Tenure in Economics at Duke University and a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Surrey (UK).
Roman titled her study: “Momentum in Motion: McAllen Economic Review.”
Here is Román’s report:
Between 2020 and 2025, McAllen experienced an average sales tax allocation growth rate of 9%. This high rate was driven to some extent by the re-opening after the COVID lockdowns. The January 2020-to-January 2025 growth rate averaged 8.4%. Although 2025 showed a 1.75% decline, January 2025-to-January 2026 showed a 5% percentage increase in sales tax allocations. According to data from the Texas Comptroller's Office, McAllen ranked third in per capita sales tax behind only Round Rock and Sugarland in 2025. The per capita sales tax was slightly over $672 dollars. These data points indicate that McAllen weathered the tariff policy volatility and is on track to show strong growth in 2026.
Hotel occupancy between 2020 and 2025 averaged 67% and an average daily rate of approximately $99. The profit on activity averaged $66.67 with significant capacity remaining. Overall average revenue from hotel occupancy per annum for the period 2020 to 2025 was slightly over $8 million. Building permits averaged 2,350 per annum between 2020 and 2025. The average value of permits during the same period was nearly $371 million. The dollar value of permits issued in 2025 stands out because of its significant increase reaching over $500 million. This dollar amount exceeds the 2022 value, the second highest in the 2020–2025 period by 36%. This is significant because the total number of permits issued in 2025 was lower than 2022, meaning that the dollar value of construction projects is growing and could be associated with higher value and larger projects. These figures require adjustments for inflation.
Here is the Economic Dashboard:
