County government · Contra Costa County, CA

Contra Costa County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Contra Costa County took in $6.38 billion and spent $5.41 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, sewer)52%State tax money20%County taxes20%Fines and other4.6%Federal tax money3.0%Local tax money0.9%

What stands out

52%

of Contra Costa County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 14%.

County taxes20%

Property tax
18%$1.17 billion
Other taxes
0.8%$49.1 million
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; public utility taxes and 3 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$16.2 million
  • Public utility taxes$14.3 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$8.7 million
  • Other licenses$6.9 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$3.0 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
0.4%$23.3 million

Fees for services52%

Fees for services
52%$3.29 billion
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 7 more
  • Hospital bills$2.78 billion
  • Other service charges$432 million
  • Sewer$45.6 million
  • Garbage collection$18.6 million
  • Airport$5.5 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$2.6 million
  • Road charges$2.3 million
  • Other school charges$900 thousand
  • Water$6 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.0%

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

From the federal government
3.0%$190 million

State tax money20%

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

From the state
20%$1.30 billion

Local tax money0.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.9%$55.9 million

Fines and other4.6%

Interest, rents and other
4.5%$289 million
Fines
0.1%$6.8 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals60%Police, fire, courts and jails15%Social services9.8%Running the government and other costs8.1%Schools and colleges1.9%All other spending5.6%

What stands out

60%

of Contra Costa County's spending goes to health services and hospitals.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 7.9%.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
60%$3.24 billion
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$2.74 billion
  • Public health$506 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
15%$793 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsFire protection; police and 3 more
  • Fire protection$305 million
  • Police$197 million
  • Prisons and jails$158 million
  • Courts and legal services$102 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$31.8 million
Social services
9.8%$527 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$527 million
Running the government and other costs
8.1%$439 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$303 million
  • Government buildings$60.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$39.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$35.8 million
Schools and colleges
1.9%$103 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$103 million
Roads, transit and parking
1.6%$85.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$79.3 million
  • Airports$4.8 million
  • Public transit$1.3 million
  • Parking$2 thousand
Sent to other local governments
1.3%$70.4 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$55.3 million
  • Sent to the state government$15.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.9%$47.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$45.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.1 million
Environment and natural resources
0.8%$45.7 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$45.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.6%$35.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$33.7 million
  • Water supply$985 thousand
  • Garbage and solid waste$287 thousand
Interest on debt
0.3%$18.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Contra Costa County. 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 Contra Costa County 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.