County government · Cobb County, GA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Cobb County took in $1.60 billion and spent $1.29 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

County taxes56%Fees for services (sewer, water)23%Fines and other10%Federal tax money5.1%Local tax money3.6%State tax money2.1%

What stands out

13%

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

County taxes56%

Property tax
35%$569 million
Sales tax
13%$214 million
Other taxes
7.2%$115 million
What's in other taxesInsurance premium taxes; occupation and business licenses and 5 more
  • Insurance premium taxes$43.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$25.0 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$21.4 million
  • Public utility taxes$8.9 million
  • Other licenses$8.1 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$5.3 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$3.3 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services23%

Fees for services
23%$372 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 5 more
  • Sewer$184 million
  • Other service charges$76.0 million
  • Water$71.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$31.9 million
  • Road charges$6.2 million
  • Transit fares$2.0 million
  • Garbage collection$964 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money5.1%

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

From the federal government
5.1%$82.6 million

State tax money2.1%

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

From the state
2.1%$33.3 million

Local tax money3.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
3.6%$58.5 million

Fines and other10%

Interest, rents and other
9.4%$152 million
Fines
0.6%$9.5 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails38%Water, sewer, trash and utilities18%Running the government and other costs17%Sent to other local governments12%Parks, recreation and libraries6.6%All other spending8.8%

What stands out

18%

of Cobb County's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 2.6%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
38%$489 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$181 million
  • Fire protection$126 million
  • Prisons and jails$91.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$90.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
18%$237 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$126 million
  • Water supply$110 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.3 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$216 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$93.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$62.9 million
  • Government buildings$32.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$27.0 million
Sent to other local governments
12%$151 million
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$151 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
6.6%$84.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$65.5 million
  • Libraries$19.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
4.0%$51.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$51.3 million
Interest on debt
2.2%$28.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$25.5 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$2.7 million
Social services
1.2%$15.3 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$15.3 million
Housing and community development
0.8%$10.8 million
Health and hospitals
0.5%$6.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$6.8 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$733 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$733 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Cobb County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of Cobb 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.