City government · Middlesex County, MA

Cambridge's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Cambridge took in $1.93 billion and spent $2.02 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, sewer)42%City taxes34%State tax money17%Fines and other4.1%Federal tax money2.1%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

17%

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

City taxes34%

Property tax
30%$581 million
Other taxes
4.1%$79.6 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes
  • Other licenses$54.9 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$24.8 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services42%

Fees for services
42%$809 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; sewer and 7 more
  • Hospital bills$683 million
  • Sewer$75.9 million
  • Water$23.8 million
  • Other service charges$11.1 million
  • Parking$10.2 million
  • Housing$2.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.7 million
  • Other school charges$752 thousand
  • School lunches$308 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%$40.0 million

State tax money17%

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

From the state
17%$332 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%$8.5 million

Fines and other4.1%

Interest, rents and other
3.5%$67.0 million
Fines
0.6%$12.2 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals51%Schools and colleges20%Running the government and other costs11%Police, fire, courts and jails6.9%Water, sewer, trash and utilities3.3%All other spending7.7%

What stands out

51%

of Cambridge's spending goes to health services and hospitals.Most U.S. cities of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
51%$1.02 billion
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals
  • Hospitals$1.02 billion
Schools and colleges
20%$413 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$413 million
Running the government and other costs
11%$222 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$179 million
  • Government buildings$25.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$9.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$7.6 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
6.9%$140 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$69.0 million
  • Fire protection$43.3 million
  • Inspections and regulation$25.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.0 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.3%$66.5 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$28.3 million
  • Water supply$25.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$12.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.2%$65.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$63.8 million
  • Parking$1.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.0%$41.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$28.2 million
  • Libraries$12.9 million
Interest on debt
1.2%$24.5 million
Sent to other local governments
0.8%$15.4 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government and sent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to the state government$11.5 million
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$3.9 million
Housing and community development
0.4%$8.8 million
Social services
<0.1%$1.1 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Cambridge. 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 Cambridge 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.