County government · Monterey County, CA

Monterey County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Monterey County took in $1.75 billion and spent $1.77 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, parks and recreation)34%State tax money34%County taxes20%Fines and other6.7%Federal tax money3.5%Local tax money1.6%

What stands out

34%

of Monterey County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 14%.

County taxes20%

Property tax
14%$252 million
Other taxes
4.2%$74.4 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 4 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$38.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$15.2 million
  • Public utility taxes$10.8 million
  • Other licenses$4.6 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$3.4 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$1.9 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
1.9%$32.7 million

Fees for services34%

Fees for services
34%$600 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 7 more
  • Hospital bills$419 million
  • Other service charges$113 million
  • Parks and recreation$35.3 million
  • Other school charges$18.2 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$6.8 million
  • Sewer$4.2 million
  • Road charges$2.1 million
  • Electric power$1.3 million
  • Garbage collection$818 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.5%

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

From the federal government
3.5%$61.0 million

State tax money34%

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

From the state
34%$588 million

Local tax money1.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.6%$28.6 million

Fines and other6.7%

Interest, rents and other
6.3%$111 million
Fines
0.4%$7.3 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals40%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Social services14%Running the government and other costs8.5%Schools and colleges5.1%All other spending16%

What stands out

40%

of Monterey 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
40%$709 million
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$418 million
  • Public health$291 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$287 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; police and 3 more
  • Prisons and jails$116 million
  • Police$67.6 million
  • Courts and legal services$65.9 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$29.1 million
  • Fire protection$8.3 million
Social services
14%$243 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$243 million
Running the government and other costs
8.5%$150 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$120 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$15.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$14.2 million
Schools and colleges
5.1%$91.2 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$91.2 million
Sent to other local governments
5.0%$87.7 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$80.5 million
  • Sent to the state government$7.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
4.9%$87.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$87.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.7%$47.6 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$36.9 million
  • Libraries$10.6 million
Environment and natural resources
2.5%$44.6 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$44.6 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$13.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.6%$10.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$5.4 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$4.1 million
  • Electric power$672 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Monterey 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 Monterey 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.