City government · Tuscaloosa County, AL

Tuscaloosa's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Tuscaloosa took in $301 million and spent $283 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes53%Fees for services (sewer, water)21%County and local tax money8.4%Fines and other8.3%Federal tax money5.6%State tax money3.6%

What stands out

29%

of Tuscaloosa's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.8%.

City taxes53%

Sales tax
29%$87.0 million
Other taxes
17%$50.4 million
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; other selective sales taxes and 3 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$22.4 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$21.3 million
  • Other licenses$5.1 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$1.2 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$432 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
7.4%$22.2 million

Fees for services21%

Fees for services
21%$63.5 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 3 more
  • Sewer$30.6 million
  • Water$30.6 million
  • Garbage collection$2.0 million
  • Airport$239 thousand
  • Housing$107 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money5.6%

Grants from Washington, paid for by the federal taxes residents also pay.

From the federal government
5.6%$16.7 million

State tax money3.6%

Money the state passes on, paid for by the state taxes residents also pay.

From the state
3.6%$10.9 million

County and local tax money8.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
8.4%$25.2 million

Fines and other8.3%

Interest, rents and other
7.4%$22.4 million
Fines
0.9%$2.6 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs32%Police, fire, courts and jails27%Roads, transit and parking14%Water, sewer, trash and utilities11%Parks, recreation and libraries7.9%All other spending7.2%

What stands out

32%

of Tuscaloosa's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
32%$91.0 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$74.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$10.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$5.7 million
  • Other government-run businesses$3 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$77.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$40.8 million
  • Fire protection$32.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.3 million
  • Prisons and jails$1.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
14%$40.7 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$33.8 million
  • Airports$6.2 million
  • Public transit$692 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
11%$31.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and water supply
  • Sewer systems$15.5 million
  • Water supply$15.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
7.9%$22.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$20.4 million
  • Libraries$2.0 million
Interest on debt
4.7%$13.3 million
Housing and community development
2.2%$6.3 million
Health and hospitals
0.2%$671 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$671 thousand
Social services
<0.1%$203 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$203 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$8 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$8 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Tuscaloosa. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Tuscaloosa itself. Other governments that serve the same area (the city, county, school district and state) are separate and not included. Borrowing, transfers between a government's own funds, and pension trust funds are not counted as revenue.