City government · Pulaski County, AR

Little Rock's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Little Rock took in $631 million and spent $600 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes35%Fees for services (sewer, airport)34%County and local tax money11%Fines and other9.5%State tax money5.6%Federal tax money5.6%

What stands out

11%

of Little Rock's money comes from county and other local tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 0.9%.

City taxes35%

Sales tax
12%$78.7 million
Other taxes
11%$71.7 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other selective sales taxes and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$36.5 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$21.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$7.3 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$3.9 million
  • Other licenses$2.4 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
11%$71.1 million

Fees for services34%

Fees for services
34%$213 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 7 more
  • Sewer$68.5 million
  • Other service charges$50.8 million
  • Airport$46.0 million
  • Garbage collection$25.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$13.3 million
  • Ports and waterways$5.1 million
  • Parking$2.5 million
  • Other government-run businesses$489 thousand
  • Road charges$41 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%$35.3 million

State tax money5.6%

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

From the state
5.6%$35.4 million

County and local tax money11%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
11%$66.9 million

Fines and other9.5%

Interest, rents and other
9.0%$57.0 million
Fines
0.4%$2.7 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails27%Running the government and other costs17%Roads, transit and parking16%Water, sewer, trash and utilities15%Parks, recreation and libraries11%All other spending15%

What stands out

6.2%

of Little Rock's spending goes to health services and hospitals.Most U.S. cities of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$163 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$92.2 million
  • Fire protection$63.6 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.5 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.8 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$101 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$79.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$10.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$8.5 million
  • Government buildings$1.1 million
  • Other government-run businesses$863 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
16%$94.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingAirports; roads and highways and 2 more
  • Airports$45.8 million
  • Roads and highways$42.2 million
  • Ports and harbors$4.6 million
  • Parking$1.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
15%$88.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$63.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$25.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
11%$65.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$65.0 million
Health and hospitals
6.2%$37.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$37.2 million
Sent to other local governments
3.5%$20.7 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$20.7 million
Interest on debt
3.4%$20.3 million
Housing and community development
1.8%$10.6 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Little Rock. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Little Rock 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.