City government · Maricopa County, AZ

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Surprise took in $406 million and spent $311 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes43%Fees for services (sewer, water)27%State tax money23%Fines and other7.7%

What stands out

32%

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

City taxes43%

Sales tax
32%$129 million
Other taxes
5.6%$22.5 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$13.0 million
  • Public utility taxes$8.9 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$580 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
5.4%$22.1 million

Fees for services27%

Fees for services
27%$109 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 5 more
  • Sewer$25.6 million
  • Water$24.8 million
  • Housing$22.1 million
  • Garbage collection$14.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$12.9 million
  • Other service charges$8.9 million
  • Road charges$19 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money23%

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

From the state
23%$92.4 million

Fines and other7.7%

Interest, rents and other
7.4%$30.0 million
Fines
0.3%$1.2 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails31%Running the government and other costs21%Water, sewer, trash and utilities15%Parks, recreation and libraries12%Roads, transit and parking9.8%All other spending12%

What stands out

7.1%

of Surprise's spending goes to housing and community development.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 1.4%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
31%$97.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$46.0 million
  • Fire protection$45.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.7 million
Running the government and other costs
21%$64.2 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$40.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$13.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$10.1 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
15%$46.6 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$18.5 million
  • Sewer systems$15.9 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$12.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
12%$36.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$36.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.8%$30.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$30.5 million
Housing and community development
7.1%$22.2 million
Health and hospitals
2.1%$6.5 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$6.5 million
Interest on debt
1.5%$4.8 million
Social services
1.1%$3.3 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$3.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Surprise. 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 Surprise 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.