City government · Orange County, CA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), Costa Mesa took in $181 million and spent $163 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2022Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes84%Fines and other5.4%State tax money4.6%Fees for services (parks and recreation, road charges)4.3%Federal tax money1.1%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

45%

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

City taxes84%

Sales tax
45%$81.7 million
Property tax
26%$47.8 million
Other taxes
13%$23.3 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 4 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$8.4 million
  • Other licenses$6.9 million
  • Public utility taxes$5.3 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$1.2 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$919 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$549 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services4.3%

Fees for services
4.3%$7.7 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$6.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$791 thousand
  • Road charges$349 thousand
  • Parking$17 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.1%

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

From the federal government
1.1%$2.0 million

State tax money4.6%

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

From the state
4.6%$8.4 million

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$408 thousand

Fines and other5.4%

Interest, rents and other
4.8%$8.7 million
Fines
0.6%$1.2 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails59%Running the government and other costs20%Parks, recreation and libraries7.6%Roads, transit and parking6.7%Housing and community development3.0%All other spending2.7%

What stands out

59%

of Costa 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
59%$97.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$54.7 million
  • Fire protection$30.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$11.6 million
Running the government and other costs
20%$33.4 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and other and not broken out
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$33.2 million
  • Other and not broken out$265 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
7.6%$12.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$12.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.7%$11.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$11.0 million
Housing and community development
3.0%$4.9 million
Health and hospitals
1.9%$3.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$3.0 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$1.4 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Costa Mesa. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of City of Costa 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.