City government · Essex County, MA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Lawrence took in $516 million and spent $596 million.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money60%City taxes19%Federal tax money12%Fees for services (water, airport)5.1%Fines and other4.2%

What stands out

60%

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

City taxes19%

Property tax
18%$92.6 million
Other taxes
0.7%$3.7 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes
  • Other licenses$2.3 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.4 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services5.1%

Fees for services
5.1%$26.3 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; other service charges and 4 more
  • Water$21.4 million
  • Other service charges$3.7 million
  • Airport$743 thousand
  • Other school charges$417 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$48 thousand
  • School lunches$4 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%$61.0 million

State tax money60%

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

From the state
60%$311 million

Fines and other4.2%

Interest, rents and other
4.0%$20.6 million
Fines
0.2%$1.1 million

Where it goes

Schools and colleges71%Running the government and other costs16%Police, fire, courts and jails5.5%Water, sewer, trash and utilities3.5%Interest on debt1.3%All other spending2.9%

What stands out

71%

of Lawrence's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. cities of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
71%$425 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$425 million
Running the government and other costs
16%$92.7 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$88.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
5.5%$32.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$16.1 million
  • Fire protection$14.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.6 million
  • Courts and legal services$712 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.5%$20.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply and garbage and solid waste
  • Water supply$14.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$6.5 million
Interest on debt
1.3%$7.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$6.5 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$1.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
1.2%$7.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$6.2 million
  • Airports$579 thousand
  • Parking$255 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.9%$5.5 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$4.0 million
  • Sent to the state government$1.5 million
Housing and community development
0.4%$2.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.3%$1.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$1.6 million
  • Libraries$318 thousand
Social services
<0.1%$513 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$513 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lawrence. 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 Lawrence 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.