County government · Houghton County, MI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2021), Houghton County took in $72.6 million and spent $64.8 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2021Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (airport, garbage collection)39%Federal tax money20%State tax money20%County taxes14%Fines and other3.8%Local tax money3.4%

What stands out

39%

of Houghton County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 8.4%.

County taxes14%

Property tax
13%$9.5 million
Other taxes
0.6%$426 thousand
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses and other licenses
  • Occupation and business licenses$407 thousand
  • Other licenses$19 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services39%

Fees for services
39%$28.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; airport and 2 more
  • Other service charges$26.4 million
  • Airport$1.2 million
  • Garbage collection$973 thousand
  • Road charges$46 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money20%

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

From the federal government
20%$14.6 million

State tax money20%

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

From the state
20%$14.2 million

Local tax money3.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
3.4%$2.5 million

Fines and other3.8%

Interest, rents and other
3.8%$2.8 million

Where it goes

Social services39%Roads, transit and parking28%Running the government and other costs12%Health and hospitals10%Police, fire, courts and jails8.1%All other spending2.9%

What stands out

39%

of Houghton County's spending goes to social services.Most U.S. counties of under 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Social services
39%$25.3 million
What's in social servicesWelfare institutions and other public welfare
  • Welfare institutions$25.0 million
  • Other public welfare$278 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
28%$18.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$16.2 million
  • Airports$2.0 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$7.5 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$6.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$488 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$444 thousand
  • Government buildings$163 thousand
Health and hospitals
10%$6.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$6.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
8.1%$5.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; police and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$3.1 million
  • Police$1.1 million
  • Prisons and jails$837 thousand
  • Inspections and regulation$254 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.3%$1.5 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste and sewer systems
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.4 million
  • Sewer systems$82 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.5%$307 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$307 thousand
Interest on debt
0.1%$90 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Houghton County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of Houghton 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.