County government · El Paso County, CO

El Paso County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), El Paso County took in $533 million and spent $492 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes55%Federal tax money14%State tax money13%Fees for services (garbage collection, road charges)13%Fines and other5.3%

What stands out

36%

of El Paso County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 2.7%.

County taxes55%

Sales tax
36%$191 million
Property tax
16%$84.8 million
Other taxes
2.8%$14.9 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes and other licenses
  • Public utility taxes$13.2 million
  • Other licenses$1.7 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services13%

Fees for services
13%$66.7 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 2 more
  • Other service charges$64.6 million
  • Garbage collection$1.3 million
  • Road charges$626 thousand
  • Housing$161 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money14%

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

From the federal government
14%$76.5 million

State tax money13%

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

From the state
13%$70.1 million

Fines and other5.3%

Interest, rents and other
5.2%$27.9 million
Fines
<0.1%$529 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs38%Police, fire, courts and jails26%Social services20%Roads, transit and parking11%Health and hospitals3.1%All other spending2.1%

What stands out

20%

of El Paso County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 4.3%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
38%$184 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$129 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$24.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$19.0 million
  • Government buildings$11.9 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
26%$128 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and courts and legal services
  • Police$104 million
  • Courts and legal services$24.0 million
Social services
20%$97.8 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$97.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
11%$55.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$55.9 million
Health and hospitals
3.1%$15.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$15.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.7%$3.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$3.4 million
Interest on debt
0.7%$3.2 million
Environment and natural resources
0.3%$1.6 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.3%$1.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.3 million
Housing and community development
<0.1%$393 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$221 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$221 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

El Paso 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 El Paso 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.