County government · Ada County, ID

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Ada County took in $348 million and spent $353 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes48%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks, land and natural resources)22%State tax money19%Fines and other6.4%Local tax money2.3%Federal tax money2.1%

What stands out

46%

of Ada County's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 29%.

County taxes48%

Property tax
46%$159 million
Other taxes
2.7%$9.3 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; motor vehicle licenses and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$7.1 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$1.7 million
  • Other licenses$264 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$210 thousand
  • Amusement licenses$1 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services22%

Fees for services
22%$75.5 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 2 more
  • Other service charges$43.8 million
  • Garbage collection$24.0 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$7.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$217 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money2.1%

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

From the federal government
2.1%$7.1 million

State tax money19%

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

From the state
19%$66.8 million

Local tax money2.3%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
2.3%$8.0 million

Fines and other6.4%

Interest, rents and other
6.0%$20.9 million
Fines
0.4%$1.4 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails54%Running the government and other costs26%Health and hospitals14%Water, sewer, trash and utilities3.4%Environment and natural resources1.7%All other spending1.2%

What stands out

54%

of Ada County's spending goes to police, fire, courts and jails.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
54%$189 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 3 more
  • Police$86.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$56.8 million
  • Prisons and jails$37.4 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$5.3 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.4 million
Running the government and other costs
26%$92.8 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$40.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$29.0 million
  • Government buildings$14.7 million
  • Other and not broken out$8.8 million
Health and hospitals
14%$48.6 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$48.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.4%$12.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$12.1 million
Environment and natural resources
1.7%$6.1 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$6.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.0%$3.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$3.5 million
Sent to other local governments
0.2%$590 thousand
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$424 thousand
  • Sent to the state government$166 thousand
Interest on debt
<0.1%$186 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Ada 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 Ada 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.