Town government · Palm Beach County, FL

Palm Beach's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2021), Palm Beach took in $127 million and spent $127 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2021Comes fromGoes to

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

Town taxes63%Fines and other16%Fees for services (parks and recreation, parking)11%Federal tax money7.1%County and local tax money2.5%State tax money1.1%

What stands out

46%

of Palm Beach's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people gets 15%.

Town taxes63%

Property tax
46%$58.0 million
Other taxes
17%$21.9 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 2 more
  • Other licenses$12.4 million
  • Public utility taxes$6.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$3.1 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$327 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services11%

Fees for services
11%$13.4 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 4 more
  • Other service charges$6.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$3.9 million
  • Parking$2.0 million
  • Garbage collection$1.1 million
  • Ports and waterways$10 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$2 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money7.1%

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

From the federal government
7.1%$9.1 million

State tax money1.1%

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

From the state
1.1%$1.3 million

County and local tax money2.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
2.5%$3.2 million

Fines and other16%

Interest, rents and other
15%$19.4 million
Fines
0.8%$988 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs25%Water, sewer, trash and utilities16%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Environment and natural resources15%Health and hospitals11%All other spending16%

What stands out

15%

of Palm Beach's spending goes to the environment and natural resources.Most U.S. cities, towns and villages of under 10,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
25%$32.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$27.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.5 million
  • Other and not broken out$729 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
16%$20.9 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; garbage and solid waste and 2 more
  • Electric power$10.5 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$5.6 million
  • Sewer systems$4.5 million
  • Water supply$255 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$20.4 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; inspections and regulation and 2 more
  • Police$17.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.8 million
  • Fire protection$858 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$360 thousand
Environment and natural resources
15%$19.0 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$19.0 million
Health and hospitals
11%$13.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$13.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.2%$10.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$10.1 million
  • Libraries$353 thousand
Interest on debt
6.5%$8.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
1.7%$2.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$2.1 million
  • Parking$6 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Town of Palm Beach. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of Town of Palm Beach 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.