County government · San Diego County, CA

San Diego County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), San Diego County took in $7.19 billion and spent $7.70 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money50%County taxes29%Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)9.4%Federal tax money6.2%Fines and other5.1%Local tax money0.8%

What stands out

50%

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

County taxes29%

Property tax
26%$1.88 billion
Other taxes
1.6%$117 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; occupation and business licenses and 3 more
  • Other licenses$42.4 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$27.8 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$26.2 million
  • Public utility taxes$13.3 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$7.3 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
0.9%$67.1 million

Fees for services9.4%

Fees for services
9.4%$677 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; sewer and 7 more
  • Other service charges$497 million
  • Sewer$61.6 million
  • Other school charges$46.1 million
  • Garbage collection$28.5 million
  • Road charges$19.9 million
  • Airport$14.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$8.9 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$1.2 million
  • Water$23 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money6.2%

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

From the federal government
6.2%$447 million

State tax money50%

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

From the state
50%$3.58 billion

Local tax money0.8%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.8%$57.2 million

Fines and other5.1%

Interest, rents and other
4.8%$345 million
Fines
0.3%$21.6 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails27%Social services22%Health and hospitals19%Running the government and other costs17%Sent to other local governments4.8%All other spending11%

What stands out

22%

of San Diego County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 4.3%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$2.05 billion
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 4 more
  • Police$790 million
  • Prisons and jails$542 million
  • Courts and legal services$476 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$167 million
  • Fire protection$67.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$5.8 million
Social services
22%$1.73 billion
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.73 billion
Health and hospitals
19%$1.43 billion
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.43 billion
Running the government and other costs
17%$1.29 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$656 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$244 million
  • Government buildings$227 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$163 million
Sent to other local governments
4.8%$370 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$313 million
  • Sent to the state government$57.0 million
Schools and colleges
4.5%$346 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$346 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.4%$185 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$171 million
  • Airports$13.9 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.7%$130 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$67.5 million
  • Libraries$63.0 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.8%$62.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Garbage and solid waste$32.9 million
  • Sewer systems$29.6 million
  • Water supply$389 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.7%$55.8 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$55.8 million
Interest on debt
0.7%$51.7 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

San Diego 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 San Diego 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.