City government · Alameda County, CA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Oakland took in $2.20 billion and spent $2.16 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes50%Fees for services (airport, ports and waterways)30%Fines and other9.5%State tax money5.3%Federal tax money4.7%County and local tax money0.6%

What stands out

21%

of Oakland's money comes from taxes other than property, sales and income taxes.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.2%.

City taxes50%

Property tax
25%$542 million
Other taxes
21%$465 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 3 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$174 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$123 million
  • Public utility taxes$80.7 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$57.6 million
  • Other licenses$28.8 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
4.1%$90.7 million

Fees for services30%

Fees for services
30%$655 million
What's in fees for servicesAirport; ports and waterways and 5 more
  • Airport$229 million
  • Ports and waterways$184 million
  • Other service charges$122 million
  • Sewer$76.4 million
  • Housing$22.0 million
  • Parking$17.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.7%

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

From the federal government
4.7%$103 million

State tax money5.3%

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

From the state
5.3%$116 million

County and local tax money0.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.6%$14.3 million

Fines and other9.5%

Interest, rents and other
8.6%$188 million
Fines
0.9%$20.6 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails34%Roads, transit and parking25%Running the government and other costs17%Housing and community development8.9%Health and hospitals6.3%All other spending9.9%

What stands out

8.9%

of Oakland'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
34%$726 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$348 million
  • Fire protection$199 million
  • Inspections and regulation$149 million
  • Courts and legal services$30.7 million
Roads, transit and parking
25%$529 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$238 million
  • Airports$176 million
  • Ports and harbors$102 million
  • Parking$13.6 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$360 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); government buildings and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$270 million
  • Government buildings$33.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$32.3 million
  • Other and not broken out$24.1 million
Housing and community development
8.9%$192 million
Health and hospitals
6.3%$135 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$135 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.1%$88.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$47.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$40.5 million
Interest on debt
3.0%$65.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.7%$58.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems
  • Sewer systems$58.2 million
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$788 thousand
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$560 thousand
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$228 thousand
Social services
<0.1%$25 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$25 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Oakland. 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 City of Oakland 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.