County government · Sonoma County, CA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Sonoma County took in $1.96 billion and spent $1.93 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money34%County taxes29%Fees for services (electric power, water)24%Fines and other5.8%Local tax money4.2%Federal tax money3.6%

What stands out

34%

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

County taxes29%

Property tax
20%$386 million
Sales tax
5.4%$107 million
Other taxes
3.8%$74.3 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 3 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$31.5 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$17.6 million
  • Public utility taxes$11.3 million
  • Other licenses$7.9 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$5.9 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services24%

Fees for services
24%$467 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 10 more
  • Electric power$231 million
  • Water$81.2 million
  • Other service charges$59.6 million
  • Sewer$42.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$19.9 million
  • Airport$13.0 million
  • Garbage collection$9.2 million
  • Road charges$3.3 million
  • Other school charges$3.2 million
  • Ports and waterways$2.5 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$966 thousand
  • Transit fares$331 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.6%

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

From the federal government
3.6%$71.3 million

State tax money34%

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

From the state
34%$663 million

Local tax money4.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
4.2%$81.8 million

Fines and other5.8%

Interest, rents and other
5.4%$106 million
Fines
0.4%$8.8 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities18%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Social services14%Health and hospitals14%Running the government and other costs10%All other spending26%

What stands out

18%

of Sonoma County's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 2.6%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
18%$355 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 2 more
  • Electric power$205 million
  • Water supply$109 million
  • Sewer systems$33.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$7.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$324 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 4 more
  • Police$112 million
  • Prisons and jails$96.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$54.7 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$25.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$23.9 million
  • Fire protection$10.9 million
Social services
14%$278 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$278 million
Health and hospitals
14%$274 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$274 million
Running the government and other costs
10%$200 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$136 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$34.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$29.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.0%$154 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$154 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.8%$131 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$98.6 million
  • Public transit$20.3 million
  • Airports$9.4 million
  • Ports and harbors$2.7 million
Sent to other local governments
5.5%$106 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$97.6 million
  • Sent to the state government$8.5 million
Schools and colleges
4.0%$76.9 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$76.9 million
Interest on debt
1.1%$20.8 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on water supply debt and 1 more
  • Interest on general debt$16.0 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$4.8 million
  • Interest on public transit debt$6 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.3%$6.3 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$6.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Sonoma 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 Sonoma 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.