City government · San Mateo County, CA

San Mateo's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), San Mateo took in $329 million and spent $315 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes43%Fees for services (sewer, parks and recreation)42%Fines and other8.4%Federal tax money4.0%State tax money2.2%County and local tax money0.5%

What stands out

15%

of San Mateo'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 taxes43%

Property tax
20%$65.7 million
Other taxes
15%$49.9 million
What's in other taxesOther taxes not classified elsewhere; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 4 more
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$14.7 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$14.3 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$6.6 million
  • Other licenses$6.5 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$4.6 million
  • Public utility taxes$3.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
8.0%$26.1 million

Fees for services42%

Fees for services
42%$137 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 4 more
  • Sewer$71.7 million
  • Other service charges$53.9 million
  • Parks and recreation$6.6 million
  • Parking$2.6 million
  • Garbage collection$2.4 million
  • Road charges$14 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.0%

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

From the federal government
4.0%$13.2 million

State tax money2.2%

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

From the state
2.2%$7.2 million

County and local tax money0.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.5%$1.5 million

Fines and other8.4%

Interest, rents and other
7.7%$25.5 million
Fines
0.7%$2.2 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs31%Police, fire, courts and jails29%Interest on debt10%Roads, transit and parking9.6%Parks, recreation and libraries8.6%All other spending12%

What stands out

10%

of San Mateo's spending goes to interest on debt.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 2.5%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
31%$96.4 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out and central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)
  • Other and not broken out$70.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$25.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
29%$90.4 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$52.7 million
  • Fire protection$25.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$12.5 million
Interest on debt
10%$31.7 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.6%$30.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$28.1 million
  • Parking$2.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.6%$27.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$19.6 million
  • Libraries$7.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
8.3%$26.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$24.4 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.9 million
Housing and community development
3.9%$12.5 million
Health and hospitals
0.2%$605 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$605 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of San Mateo. 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 San Mateo 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.