City government · Merced County, CA

Merced's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), Merced took in $170 million and spent $137 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)50%City taxes36%State tax money11%Federal tax money1.8%Fines and other1.2%

What stands out

50%

of Merced's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 30%.

City taxes36%

Sales tax
18%$30.0 million
Property tax
10%$17.6 million
Other taxes
7.6%$12.9 million
What's in other taxesOther taxes not classified elsewhere; other licenses and 4 more
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$3.4 million
  • Other licenses$3.2 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$2.4 million
  • Public utility taxes$1.9 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$1.6 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$519 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services50%

Fees for services
50%$86.0 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 6 more
  • Sewer$25.1 million
  • Garbage collection$21.9 million
  • Water$19.5 million
  • Other service charges$18.3 million
  • Airport$395 thousand
  • Housing$362 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$274 thousand
  • Parking$192 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.8%

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

From the federal government
1.8%$3.1 million

State tax money11%

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

From the state
11%$18.8 million

Fines and other1.2%

Interest, rents and other
0.8%$1.4 million
Fines
0.4%$633 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails36%Water, sewer, trash and utilities28%Running the government and other costs12%Housing and community development10%Roads, transit and parking8.8%All other spending5.4%

What stands out

10%

of Merced's spending goes to housing and community development.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 1.4%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
36%$48.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$28.3 million
  • Fire protection$16.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.5 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
28%$38.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Garbage and solid waste$16.6 million
  • Sewer systems$11.5 million
  • Water supply$10.1 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$16.5 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)$9.5 million
  • Other and not broken out$7.0 million
Housing and community development
10%$14.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
8.8%$12.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$11.0 million
  • Airports$715 thousand
  • Public transit$186 thousand
  • Parking$177 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.6%$5.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$5.0 million
Interest on debt
1.7%$2.4 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$2.0 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$369 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$57 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$57 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Merced. 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 Merced 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.