City government · El Paso County, CO

Colorado Springs's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Colorado Springs took in $1.85 billion and spent $2.29 billion.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, gas)58%City taxes22%Fines and other15%Federal tax money4.4%State tax money0.5%County and local tax money<0.1%

What stands out

58%

of Colorado Springs' money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 30%.

City taxes22%

Sales tax
17%$307 million
Other taxes
2.7%$49.8 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other selective sales taxes and 2 more
  • Public utility taxes$35.3 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$10.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$3.5 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$368 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
2.7%$49.4 million

Fees for services58%

Fees for services
58%$1.08 billion
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; gas and 7 more
  • Electric power$508 million
  • Gas$213 million
  • Water$208 million
  • Sewer$74.6 million
  • Airport$36.0 million
  • Other service charges$30.1 million
  • Parking$10.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.6 million
  • Housing$252 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.4%

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

From the federal government
4.4%$80.8 million

State tax money0.5%

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

From the state
0.5%$8.4 million

County and local tax money<0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
<0.1%$1.5 million

Fines and other15%

Interest, rents and other
14%$266 million
Fines
0.4%$7.2 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities62%Running the government and other costs14%Police, fire, courts and jails9.4%Roads, transit and parking6.9%Interest on debt4.4%All other spending3.1%

What stands out

62%

of Colorado Springs' 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
62%$1.43 billion
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 2 more
  • Electric power$835 million
  • Water supply$319 million
  • Gas supply$223 million
  • Sewer systems$52.0 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$317 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$214 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$61.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$41.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.4%$216 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$131 million
  • Fire protection$70.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$14.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.9%$158 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$97.6 million
  • Airports$45.2 million
  • Public transit$9.0 million
  • Parking$6.2 million
Interest on debt
4.4%$100 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt; interest on water supply debt and 2 more
  • Interest on electric power debt$39.8 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$29.5 million
  • Interest on general debt$23.2 million
  • Interest on gas supply debt$7.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.6%$36.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$36.4 million
Housing and community development
1.5%$33.7 million
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$11 thousand
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$11 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Colorado Springs. 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 City of Colorado Springs 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.