City government · Santa Cruz County, CA

Santa Cruz's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), Santa Cruz took in $256 million and spent $211 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, sewer)43%City taxes38%Federal tax money7.3%State tax money6.9%Fines and other3.6%County and local tax money0.8%

What stands out

16%

of Santa Cruz'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 taxes38%

Other taxes
16%$41.8 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other selective sales taxes and 5 more
  • Public utility taxes$16.4 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$13.0 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$5.1 million
  • Other licenses$3.4 million
  • Amusement licenses$2.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$744 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$554 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
12%$30.8 million
Property tax
10%$25.6 million

Fees for services43%

Fees for services
43%$111 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 4 more
  • Water$41.6 million
  • Sewer$23.7 million
  • Garbage collection$22.6 million
  • Other service charges$11.7 million
  • Parking$7.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$3.6 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money7.3%

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

From the federal government
7.3%$18.6 million

State tax money6.9%

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

From the state
6.9%$17.6 million

County and local tax money0.8%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.8%$2.1 million

Fines and other3.6%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$8.0 million
Fines
0.5%$1.2 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities30%Police, fire, courts and jails25%Roads, transit and parking16%Running the government and other costs15%Parks, recreation and libraries8.8%All other spending5.1%

What stands out

30%

of Santa Cruz's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 20%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
30%$63.6 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$28.8 million
  • Sewer systems$18.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$16.5 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
25%$51.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$29.7 million
  • Fire protection$22.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
16%$33.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; parking and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$24.5 million
  • Parking$8.2 million
  • Public transit$1.1 million
Running the government and other costs
15%$32.0 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)$20.2 million
  • Other and not broken out$11.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.8%$18.6 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$16.8 million
  • Libraries$1.8 million
Housing and community development
3.0%$6.3 million
Interest on debt
1.8%$3.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on water supply debt and interest on general debt
  • Interest on water supply debt$2.8 million
  • Interest on general debt$1.1 million
Health and hospitals
0.3%$565 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$565 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Santa Cruz. 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 Santa Cruz 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.