City government · Maricopa County, AZ

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Mesa took in $1.13 billion and spent $1.31 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, sewer)49%City taxes37%State tax money12%Fines and other2.2%

What stands out

29%

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

City taxes37%

Sales tax
29%$330 million
Property tax
4.2%$47.7 million
Other taxes
3.8%$42.6 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes
  • Other licenses$35.7 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$6.8 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services49%

Fees for services
49%$554 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 7 more
  • Water$184 million
  • Sewer$98.6 million
  • Garbage collection$71.8 million
  • Other service charges$65.1 million
  • Gas$58.9 million
  • Electric power$50.2 million
  • Other government-run businesses$16.0 million
  • Airport$4.8 million
  • Road charges$4.2 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money12%

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

From the state
12%$132 million

Fines and other2.2%

Interest, rents and other
1.4%$15.9 million
Fines
0.8%$8.8 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails36%Water, sewer, trash and utilities20%Roads, transit and parking15%Running the government and other costs14%Parks, recreation and libraries7.3%All other spending7.5%

What stands out

36%

of Mesa's spending goes to police, fire, courts and jails.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 25%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
36%$469 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$300 million
  • Fire protection$140 million
  • Courts and legal services$26.0 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.1 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
20%$260 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 3 more
  • Water supply$91.1 million
  • Sewer systems$53.0 million
  • Electric power$42.9 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$39.9 million
  • Gas supply$33.3 million
Roads, transit and parking
15%$198 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$167 million
  • Public transit$23.7 million
  • Airports$7.8 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$185 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$110 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$53.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$21.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
7.3%$95.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$86.5 million
  • Libraries$8.8 million
Interest on debt
5.3%$68.8 million
Housing and community development
2.3%$29.5 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

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

What this covers. The money of City of Mesa 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.