City government · St Joseph County, IN

South Bend's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), South Bend took in $350 million and spent $345 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, water)42%City taxes30%State tax money21%Fines and other5.2%Federal tax money0.9%County and local tax money0.6%

What stands out

21%

of South Bend's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 6.4%.

City taxes30%

Property tax
29%$102 million
Other taxes
0.8%$2.7 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; public utility taxes and 2 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.5 million
  • Public utility taxes$694 thousand
  • Other licenses$401 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$48 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services42%

Fees for services
42%$146 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 6 more
  • Sewer$89.9 million
  • Water$26.0 million
  • Garbage collection$10.8 million
  • Other service charges$9.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$7.6 million
  • Transit fares$1.5 million
  • Parking$963 thousand
  • Road charges$90 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.9%

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

From the federal government
0.9%$3.3 million

State tax money21%

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

From the state
21%$75.0 million

County and local tax money0.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.6%$2.2 million

Fines and other5.2%

Interest, rents and other
5.0%$17.4 million
Fines
0.2%$755 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs32%Police, fire, courts and jails30%Roads, transit and parking12%Water, sewer, trash and utilities12%Parks, recreation and libraries8.4%All other spending6.5%

What stands out

32%

of South Bend's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
32%$109 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$81.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$26.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.6 million
  • Government buildings$20 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
30%$102 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$57.8 million
  • Fire protection$38.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$1.6 million
Roads, transit and parking
12%$41.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$21.8 million
  • Public transit$18.5 million
  • Parking$1.3 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
12%$40.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$17.2 million
  • Sewer systems$16.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$6.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.4%$28.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$28.8 million
Housing and community development
4.3%$14.8 million
Interest on debt
2.1%$7.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on public transit debt
  • Interest on general debt$7.2 million
  • Interest on public transit debt$30 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.1%$383 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$383 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$92 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$92 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of South Bend. 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 City of South Bend 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.