City government · Santa Clara County, CA

Los Altos's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), Los Altos took in $67.8 million and spent $66.7 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes72%Fees for services (sewer, parks and recreation)19%Fines and other4.4%State tax money3.6%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

23%

of Los Altos' money comes from taxes other than property, sales and income taxes.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 6.1%.

City taxes72%

Property tax
44%$30.0 million
Other taxes
23%$15.3 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 3 more
  • Other licenses$6.5 million
  • Public utility taxes$5.4 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.8 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$997 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$612 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
5.5%$3.7 million

Fees for services19%

Fees for services
19%$13.0 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 2 more
  • Sewer$8.3 million
  • Other service charges$2.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.2 million
  • Garbage collection$929 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money3.6%

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

From the state
3.6%$2.4 million

County and local tax money0.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.4%$301 thousand

Fines and other4.4%

Interest, rents and other
4.1%$2.8 million
Fines
0.3%$184 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails39%Roads, transit and parking24%Running the government and other costs20%Water, sewer, trash and utilities12%Parks, recreation and libraries5.1%All other spending0.9%

What stands out

24%

of Los Altos' spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
39%$25.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$13.5 million
  • Fire protection$7.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
24%$15.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$15.6 million
  • Public transit$269 thousand
Running the government and other costs
20%$13.3 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)$12.0 million
  • Other and not broken out$1.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
12%$7.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$6.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.1%$3.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$3.4 million
Interest on debt
0.7%$434 thousand
Housing and community development
0.2%$166 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Los Altos. 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 Los Altos 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.