County government · Kent County, MI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Kent County took in $693 million and spent $639 million.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

State tax money31%County taxes27%Fees for services (airport, garbage collection)21%Federal tax money11%Fines and other6.2%Local tax money3.1%

What stands out

31%

of Kent County's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 19%.

County taxes27%

Property tax
26%$179 million
Other taxes
1.5%$10.7 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$10.1 million
  • Other licenses$631 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$7 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services21%

Fees for services
21%$146 million
What's in fees for servicesAirport; other service charges and 3 more
  • Airport$59.9 million
  • Other service charges$42.6 million
  • Garbage collection$38.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.8 million
  • Road charges$1.6 million

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%$76.2 million

State tax money31%

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

From the state
31%$217 million

Local tax money3.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
3.1%$21.6 million

Fines and other6.2%

Interest, rents and other
6.0%$41.2 million
Fines
0.2%$1.4 million

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking42%Police, fire, courts and jails18%Running the government and other costs14%Health and hospitals11%Parks, recreation and libraries5.2%All other spending9.8%

What stands out

42%

of Kent County's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 6.3%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
42%$270 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$199 million
  • Airports$70.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
18%$113 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Courts and legal services$46.5 million
  • Prisons and jails$33.4 million
  • Police$31.7 million
  • Fire protection$1.4 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$13 thousand
Running the government and other costs
14%$88.0 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$55.9 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$14.8 million
  • Government buildings$11.2 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$6.1 million
Health and hospitals
11%$72.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$72.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.2%$33.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$33.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
4.9%$31.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$31.1 million
Social services
3.0%$19.0 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$19.0 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$5.8 million
Housing and community development
0.6%$4.1 million
Environment and natural resources
0.4%$2.5 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$2.5 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Kent 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 Kent 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.