County government · Wayne County, MI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Wayne County took in $2.55 billion and spent $2.28 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

State tax money53%County taxes15%Fees for services (sewer, hospital bills)12%Federal tax money11%Fines and other6.8%Local tax money1.8%

What stands out

53%

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

County taxes15%

Property tax
15%$378 million
Other taxes
0.5%$13.8 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$12.7 million
  • Other licenses$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services12%

Fees for services
12%$300 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; sewer and 5 more
  • Other service charges$215 million
  • Sewer$59.4 million
  • Hospital bills$18.7 million
  • Road charges$3.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.0 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$1.2 million
  • Housing$12 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%$292 million

State tax money53%

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

From the state
53%$1.35 billion

Local tax money1.8%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.8%$46.4 million

Fines and other6.8%

Interest, rents and other
4.1%$105 million
Fines
2.7%$68.9 million

Where it goes

Social services34%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Sent to other local governments16%Running the government and other costs14%Health and hospitals8.0%All other spending12%

What stands out

34%

of Wayne County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 4.3%.

Spending by category100%

Social services
34%$766 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$766 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$375 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; probation, parole and other corrections and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$191 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$127 million
  • Police$33.2 million
  • Prisons and jails$24.7 million
Sent to other local governments
16%$362 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government
  • Sent to the state government$362 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$320 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$143 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$98.8 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$77.9 million
Health and hospitals
8.0%$182 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health and hospitals
  • Public health$164 million
  • Hospitals$18.0 million
Roads, transit and parking
7.6%$174 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$174 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.6%$59.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems
  • Sewer systems$59.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.8%$18.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$18.5 million
Interest on debt
0.6%$13.3 million
Housing and community development
0.3%$7.1 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$1.4 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.4 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Wayne County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of Wayne 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.