County government · Bay County, FL

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended October 31, 2023), Bay County took in $518 million and spent $437 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes47%Fees for services (water, garbage collection)18%Fines and other13%Federal tax money11%State tax money8.8%Local tax money1.4%

What stands out

16%

of Bay County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 4.2%.

County taxes47%

Property tax
21%$110 million
Sales tax
16%$84.7 million
Other taxes
9.4%$48.5 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; motor fuel taxes and 2 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$39.8 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$5.3 million
  • Other licenses$2.7 million
  • Public utility taxes$830 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services18%

Fees for services
18%$95.3 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; water and 5 more
  • Other service charges$49.4 million
  • Water$25.4 million
  • Garbage collection$9.2 million
  • Sewer$9.0 million
  • Road charges$963 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$886 thousand
  • Transit fares$442 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money11%

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

From the federal government
11%$57.5 million

State tax money8.8%

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

From the state
8.8%$45.7 million

Local tax money1.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.4%$7.2 million

Fines and other13%

Interest, rents and other
13%$65.7 million
Fines
0.6%$3.0 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs33%Police, fire, courts and jails24%Roads, transit and parking16%Water, sewer, trash and utilities14%Housing and community development3.5%All other spending9.0%

What stands out

14%

of Bay County's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 1.6%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
33%$144 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$99.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$29.7 million
  • Government buildings$10.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.5 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
24%$106 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Police$52.4 million
  • Prisons and jails$23.1 million
  • Fire protection$14.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$9.5 million
  • Inspections and regulation$6.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
16%$71.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$65.5 million
  • Public transit$6.1 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
14%$61.9 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Water supply$23.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$19.9 million
  • Sewer systems$18.1 million
Housing and community development
3.5%$15.4 million
Health and hospitals
3.0%$13.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$13.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.1%$9.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$5.5 million
  • Libraries$3.8 million
Environment and natural resources
1.5%$6.8 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$6.8 million
Interest on debt
1.5%$6.8 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$4.7 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$2.0 million
Sent to other local governments
0.7%$2.9 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government
  • Sent to the state government$2.9 million
Social services
<0.1%$396 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$396 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

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

What this covers. The money of Bay 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.