County government · Berrien County, MI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Berrien County took in $182 million and spent $196 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes33%State tax money25%Fines and other16%Fees for services (parks and recreation, garbage collection)11%Federal tax money11%Local tax money4.0%

What stands out

16%

of Berrien County's money comes from interest, rents and other revenue.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 5.4%.

County taxes33%

Property tax
32%$58.9 million
Other taxes
0.5%$849 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$849 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services11%

Fees for services
11%$20.3 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 3 more
  • Other service charges$18.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.3 million
  • Garbage collection$382 thousand
  • Transit fares$355 thousand
  • Water$74 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money11%

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

From the federal government
11%$19.7 million

State tax money25%

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

From the state
25%$45.4 million

Local tax money4.0%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
4.0%$7.3 million

Fines and other16%

Interest, rents and other
16%$29.4 million
Fines
0.2%$298 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs35%Police, fire, courts and jails27%Roads, transit and parking18%Health and hospitals14%Social services3.8%All other spending2.8%

What stands out

35%

of Berrien County's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 19%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
35%$68.3 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$51.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$11.2 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.0 million
  • Government buildings$2.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$52.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Courts and legal services$22.0 million
  • Prisons and jails$16.4 million
  • Police$12.6 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$1.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$20 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
18%$34.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$33.6 million
  • Public transit$1.0 million
Health and hospitals
14%$27.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$27.8 million
Social services
3.8%$7.4 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$7.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.0%$3.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$3.2 million
  • Libraries$708 thousand
Interest on debt
0.6%$1.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.2%$481 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$265 thousand
  • Garbage and solid waste$216 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Berrien County. 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 Berrien 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.