City government · San Diego County, CA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), La Mesa took in $85.2 million and spent $74.1 million.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

City taxes68%Fees for services (sewer, housing)23%State tax money4.2%Federal tax money4.2%Fines and other0.4%County and local tax money<0.1%

What stands out

36%

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

City taxes68%

Sales tax
36%$31.1 million
Property tax
21%$18.2 million
Other taxes
11%$9.0 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$5.1 million
  • Other licenses$1.7 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.3 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$447 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$397 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services23%

Fees for services
23%$19.3 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 4 more
  • Sewer$12.9 million
  • Other service charges$3.5 million
  • Housing$1.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$832 thousand
  • Garbage collection$523 thousand
  • Parking$419 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.2%

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

From the federal government
4.2%$3.6 million

State tax money4.2%

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

From the state
4.2%$3.6 million

County and local tax money<0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
<0.1%$58 thousand

Fines and other0.4%

Fines
0.3%$278 thousand
Interest, rents and other
<0.1%$32 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails51%Water, sewer, trash and utilities13%Roads, transit and parking12%Running the government and other costs12%Parks, recreation and libraries6.9%All other spending5.3%

What stands out

51%

of La 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
51%$37.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$23.0 million
  • Fire protection$13.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
13%$9.4 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$8.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$597 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
12%$9.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$8.7 million
  • Parking$305 thousand
Running the government and other costs
12%$8.8 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)$8.7 million
  • Other and not broken out$171 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
6.9%$5.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$5.1 million
Interest on debt
2.2%$1.6 million
Health and hospitals
2.0%$1.5 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.5 million
Housing and community development
1.1%$837 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of La 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 La 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.