County government · Arapahoe County, CO

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Arapahoe County took in $544 million and spent $530 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

County taxes48%State tax money21%Fees for services (parks and recreation)13%Federal tax money12%Fines and other6.2%

What stands out

12%

of Arapahoe County's money comes from federal tax money.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 4.5%.

County taxes48%

Property tax
36%$198 million
Sales tax
7.5%$40.6 million
Other taxes
4.2%$22.8 million
What's in other taxesOther taxes not classified elsewhere and other licenses
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$12.2 million
  • Other licenses$10.6 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services13%

Fees for services
13%$70.9 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges and parks and recreation
  • Other service charges$70.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$918 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money12%

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

From the federal government
12%$65.7 million

State tax money21%

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

From the state
21%$112 million

Local tax money<0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
<0.1%$159 thousand

Fines and other6.2%

Interest, rents and other
6.1%$33.4 million
Fines
<0.1%$290 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails28%Social services20%Running the government and other costs19%Health and hospitals14%Parks, recreation and libraries9.8%All other spending9.0%

What stands out

20%

of Arapahoe 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
28%$150 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$69.2 million
  • Prisons and jails$58.9 million
  • Courts and legal services$21.9 million
Social services
20%$106 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$106 million
Running the government and other costs
19%$102 million
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$35.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$31.0 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$24.6 million
  • Government buildings$10.3 million
Health and hospitals
14%$73.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$73.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
9.8%$51.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$51.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.8%$36.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$36.3 million
Housing and community development
1.2%$6.2 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$4.1 million
Sent to other local governments
0.2%$1.1 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$1.1 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
<0.1%$116 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply
  • Water supply$116 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Arapahoe County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of Arapahoe 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.