County government · Pitkin County, CO

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Pitkin County took in $201 million and spent $175 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes50%Fees for services (airport, garbage collection)20%Fines and other19%Federal tax money6.5%State tax money3.7%Local tax money2.2%

What stands out

26%

of Pitkin County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 1.6%.

County taxes50%

Sales tax
26%$52.5 million
Property tax
17%$33.5 million
Other taxes
6.7%$13.4 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; other selective sales taxes and 3 more
  • Other licenses$11.3 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$2.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$5 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$4 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$1 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services20%

Fees for services
20%$39.2 million
What's in fees for servicesAirport; other service charges and 2 more
  • Airport$17.8 million
  • Other service charges$11.9 million
  • Garbage collection$8.6 million
  • Housing$888 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money6.5%

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

From the federal government
6.5%$13.0 million

State tax money3.7%

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

From the state
3.7%$7.4 million

Local tax money2.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
2.2%$4.4 million

Fines and other19%

Interest, rents and other
19%$37.2 million
Fines
<0.1%$86 thousand

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking35%Running the government and other costs25%Parks, recreation and libraries18%Police, fire, courts and jails8.7%Health and hospitals3.9%All other spending10%

What stands out

18%

of Pitkin County's spending goes to parks, recreation and libraries.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people spends 1%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
35%$60.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; airports and 1 more
  • Public transit$30.3 million
  • Airports$21.5 million
  • Roads and highways$9.0 million
Running the government and other costs
25%$43.4 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$21.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$13.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$4.5 million
  • Government buildings$4.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
18%$30.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$26.0 million
  • Libraries$4.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
8.7%$15.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Police$9.9 million
  • Prisons and jails$3.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$1.0 million
Health and hospitals
3.9%$6.7 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$6.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.7%$6.4 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$6.4 million
Social services
2.6%$4.5 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$4.5 million
Sent to other local governments
2.1%$3.6 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$3.6 million
  • Sent to the state government$53 thousand
Interest on debt
1.1%$1.8 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on public transit debt
  • Interest on general debt$1.7 million
  • Interest on public transit debt$151 thousand
Housing and community development
0.7%$1.3 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$106 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$106 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Pitkin 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 Pitkin 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.