County government · Polk County, IA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Polk County took in $758 million and spent $732 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, parks and recreation)41%County taxes40%State tax money17%Fines and other2.7%

What stands out

41%

of Polk County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 14%.

County taxes40%

Property tax
36%$274 million
Other taxes
3.4%$25.9 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; motor vehicle licenses and 2 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$10.5 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$8.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$5.5 million
  • Other licenses$1.2 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
<0.1%$360 thousand

Fees for services41%

Fees for services
41%$310 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 4 more
  • Hospital bills$221 million
  • Other service charges$61.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$22.5 million
  • Sewer$3.1 million
  • Road charges$847 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$427 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money17%

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

From the state
17%$128 million

Fines and other2.7%

Interest, rents and other
2.7%$20.4 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals44%Running the government and other costs19%Police, fire, courts and jails15%Housing and community development7.2%Social services5.8%All other spending8.9%

What stands out

44%

of Polk County's spending goes to health services and hospitals.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 7.9%.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
44%$324 million
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$285 million
  • Public health$38.7 million
Running the government and other costs
19%$138 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); other and not broken out and 1 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$93.5 million
  • Other and not broken out$44.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$577 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
15%$110 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; courts and legal services and 1 more
  • Prisons and jails$54.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$27.4 million
  • Police$27.4 million
Housing and community development
7.2%$52.7 million
Social services
5.8%$42.7 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$42.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.6%$26.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$25.5 million
  • Libraries$682 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
2.6%$19.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$19.0 million
Interest on debt
1.9%$14.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.5%$3.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$3.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$498 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.3%$2.0 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$2.0 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Polk County. 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 Polk 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.