Sleepy southern city transformed into boomtown thanks to Walmart’s new corporate HQ… but locals are worried: ‘I don’t want anyone else moving here’

A sleepy Southern town has been transformed into a boomtown thanks to a huge local business, but not everyone is thrilled about the drastic change.

Bentonville, Arkansas, about three hours outside Little Rock, has gone from a quiet, cattle-filled metropolis to a trendy city full of amenities often found in major destinations like New York and Austin.

The small city, with a population of about 60,000, has evolved quickly with the help of Walmart, one of the country’s largest companies, after the company established its headquarters in the 34.25-square-mile city decades ago.

The influx of residents is expected to skyrocket after Walmart announced that a massive new corporate campus with a pickleball court and daycare is on the way.

First incorporated in October 1969 under the Delaware General Corporation Law, the multinational retailer moved to the southern city in 1971 and opened its first home office and distribution center.

Bentonville has since been dubbed the new “capital of cool” as farmland and a slower way of life have been replaced by craft cocktails, chef-driven restaurants, bohemian coffee shops and an exclusive $255-a-month social club with a waiting list. .

The city has evolved quickly with the help of Walmart, which established its headquarters in the 34.25-square-mile city decades ago, and a new one is on the way. (photo: the Walmart Museum)

Gil Curren, 88, who has lived in the town with his wife Sue since 1971, said they have tried to embrace the change but fear the hype could lead to too many people moving there.

“We still have a great lifestyle here. And I would recommend that to everyone. But don’t tell them, I don’t want anyone else moving here,” Gil said CNBC.

Gil and his family moved from their home in Kansas City to a farm in Bentonville.

The retiree recalled times when he saw rural moments take over the town, such as when cows got loose after a nearby river flooded.

Now, more than five decades later, he said those experiences have turned into distant memories as he looks out his window and sees a bustling, vibrant city, full of cyclists and plagued by unrecognizable structures.

“In the last 10, 15 years, it’s just exploded,” Gil said. ‘Every time I go to town now there is new construction.’

Many of the people who have moved to the city are Walmart employees, as the company has helped transform the area to attract talent to fill its many positions.

As more residents arrive, the cost of living has risen, worrying locals like Gil and Sue.

In addition to Walmart, other well-known companies in the area have brought in more hires, such as Tyson Foods and trucking company JB Hunt.

Recently, the city underwent a major project: Walmart’s new headquarters, which is expected to be located on a 350-acre campus.

Other companies, including Hershey, Mattel, PepsiCo and Duracell, have planted offices in or near Bentonville to be closer to Walmart’s headquarters.

In 2010, Bentonville’s population was 36,000, and by 2022 this had increased to 58,000. By 2050, the city’s predicted population is expected to reach 200,000 people US Census Bureau reported.

Recently, the city underwent a huge project: Walmart’s new headquarters that will take over a 350-acre campus.

In the immense new home office, employees can enjoy a food hall, walking and cycling paths, a fitness center and childcare.

The gym and childcare have already opened their doors and other parts of the enormous center will open in phases over the coming year.

The campus will be located between Central Avenue and 14th Street, near Highway 102 in downtown Bentonville, where old corporate warehouses and office buildings once stood.

The giant grocer demolished existing buildings to replace them with twelve new office buildings, several amenities buildings, parking decks and lush green space.

In addition to the new headquarters, the company is also renovating the Walmart Museum that founder Sam Walton opened in 1990.

The new version will be modernized and tech-driven, with a huge hologram of Walton to help answer visitors’ questions.

Inside the massive building, the company will offer employees a dining room, walking and biking trails, a fitness center and childcare

In the meantime, a temporary location has been set up at the Walmart Museum Heritage Lab at 240 S. Main St.

Walton’s family made sure his entrepreneurial legacy stayed alive after he died in 1992, while his grandsons, Tom and Steuart, built luxury apartments and high-end restaurants in the city.

Walton’s daughter, Alice, also made her mark on the evolving community by founding the Crystal Bridges American Art Museum. She plans to open a medical school in the area.

Kristen Boozman, a local real estate agent, told CNBC News that she has seen how popular Bentonville has become.

“Ten years ago we had 14 homes that sold for over a million dollars. Last year, 2023, we had 244,” Boozman revealed.

Along with the expensive homes, the city’s median income has risen to $99,000 per year, more than the $55,432 median household income across the state.

Not only are locals struggling to keep up with price increases, but so are future Walmart employees looking to move to Bentonville.

According to the company’s most recent proxy statement, an average Walmart employee makes just over $27,640 per year.

Walmart has already begun moving its corporate workforce to the city, with the company announcing last month that employees from Atlanta, Toronto and Dallas will be transferred to Bentonville or other business areas.

An employee who previously lived in the Big Apple, Washington DC and Miami uprooted her life and moved to Arkansas for her job at Walmart.

The giant grocer demolished the existing buildings to replace them with twelve new office buildings, several amenities buildings, parking decks and green space. (photo: a rendered version of Walmart’s future headquarters)

Tracy Robinson, a team leader who coordinates with manufacturers who make baby products for the grocer’s private label brands, said she had never been to Bentonville before her move.

After adjusting to her new life, Robinson said she adjusted quite well, but she was shocked to see that the price to eat out in the city was almost identical to restaurants in Miami.

Despite the culture shock in the city, Curren said there are pros and cons to the change.

“We can go to the Walmart store and not see anyone we know there,” he said, adding that traffic was severely backed up.

On the other hand, he enjoys seeing his town full of families and experiencing all the new adventures he encounters along the way.