City government · Johnson County, IA

Iowa City's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Iowa City took in $175 million and spent $163 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes44%Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)28%Federal tax money12%Fines and other8.1%State tax money6.8%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

40%

of Iowa City's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 20%.

City taxes44%

Property tax
40%$70.5 million
Other taxes
3.9%$6.9 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; other selective sales taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$3.0 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$2.1 million
  • Public utility taxes$1.7 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services28%

Fees for services
28%$48.7 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 8 more
  • Sewer$14.7 million
  • Garbage collection$12.5 million
  • Water$11.8 million
  • Parking$5.7 million
  • Other service charges$2.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$683 thousand
  • Housing$564 thousand
  • Road charges$100 thousand
  • Transit fares$91 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$34 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money12%

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

From the federal government
12%$21.8 million

State tax money6.8%

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

From the state
6.8%$12.0 million

County and local tax money0.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.4%$708 thousand

Fines and other8.1%

Interest, rents and other
7.6%$13.4 million
Fines
0.5%$835 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities25%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Running the government and other costs16%Roads, transit and parking16%Housing and community development11%All other spending14%

What stands out

11%

of Iowa City's spending goes to housing and community development.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 1.4%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
25%$40.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$16.1 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$15.1 million
  • Water supply$9.6 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$28.4 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$15.4 million
  • Fire protection$9.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$2.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$942 thousand
Running the government and other costs
16%$26.8 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$18.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.5 million
  • Government buildings$915 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$430 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
16%$26.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$10.3 million
  • Public transit$9.9 million
  • Parking$5.0 million
  • Airports$1.4 million
Housing and community development
11%$17.9 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
10%$16.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$8.9 million
  • Libraries$7.6 million
Sent to other local governments
1.6%$2.6 million
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$2.6 million
  • Sent to the state government$6 thousand
Interest on debt
1.4%$2.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$2.2 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$56 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.7%$1.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.1 million
Social services
0.4%$697 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$697 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$7 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$7 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Iowa City. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of City of Iowa City 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.