County government · Los Angeles County, CA

Los Angeles County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Los Angeles County took in $42.1 billion and spent $37.0 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money38%County taxes30%Fees for services (hospital bills, water)24%Fines and other4.9%Federal tax money3.1%Local tax money0.5%

What stands out

38%

of Los Angeles County's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 19%.

County taxes30%

Property tax
27%$11.5 billion
Sales tax
1.6%$659 million
Other taxes
0.8%$316 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 4 more
  • Public utility taxes$94.0 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$76.6 million
  • Other licenses$60.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$51.0 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$25.0 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$9.6 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services24%

Fees for services
24%$9.94 billion
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 10 more
  • Hospital bills$5.44 billion
  • Other service charges$3.91 billion
  • Water$194 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$155 million
  • Garbage collection$121 million
  • Sewer$38.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$30.7 million
  • Other school charges$27.9 million
  • Road charges$18.9 million
  • Transit fares$6.4 million
  • Airport$4.7 million
  • College tuition$646 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.1%

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

From the federal government
3.1%$1.31 billion

State tax money38%

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

From the state
38%$16.0 billion

Local tax money0.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.5%$207 million

Fines and other4.9%

Interest, rents and other
4.7%$1.97 billion
Fines
0.3%$110 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals34%Social services24%Police, fire, courts and jails22%Running the government and other costs8.3%Housing and community development2.4%All other spending9.5%

What stands out

34%

of Los Angeles 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
34%$12.6 billion
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health and hospitals
  • Public health$7.71 billion
  • Hospitals$4.90 billion
Social services
24%$8.88 billion
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$8.88 billion
Police, fire, courts and jails
22%$8.06 billion
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 4 more
  • Police$2.57 billion
  • Courts and legal services$1.73 billion
  • Prisons and jails$1.59 billion
  • Fire protection$1.53 billion
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$616 million
  • Inspections and regulation$13.4 million
Running the government and other costs
8.3%$3.06 billion
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$2.07 billion
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$446 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$392 million
  • Government buildings$154 million
Housing and community development
2.4%$901 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.3%$851 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$553 million
  • Public transit$281 million
  • Airports$16.6 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.0%$741 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$570 million
  • Libraries$171 million
Environment and natural resources
1.4%$509 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$509 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.0%$388 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Water supply$186 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$158 million
  • Sewer systems$43.3 million
Schools and colleges
1.0%$382 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools; colleges and universities and 1 more
  • Elementary and secondary schools$369 million
  • Colleges and universities$13.2 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$45 thousand
Interest on debt
0.9%$350 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$350 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$263 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.8%$300 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government and sent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to the state government$246 million
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$54.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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.