City government · St Louis County, MN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Duluth took in $407 million and spent $422 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (gas, sewer)43%City taxes25%State tax money16%Federal tax money9.7%Fines and other4.0%County and local tax money2.6%

What stands out

16%

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

City taxes25%

Property tax
12%$50.8 million
Sales tax
8.8%$36.0 million
Other taxes
3.7%$15.1 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; public utility taxes and 3 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$8.0 million
  • Public utility taxes$4.4 million
  • Other licenses$2.2 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$465 thousand
  • Amusement taxes$40 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services43%

Fees for services
43%$174 million
What's in fees for servicesGas; other service charges and 7 more
  • Gas$56.0 million
  • Other service charges$31.5 million
  • Sewer$26.4 million
  • Water$22.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$18.2 million
  • Road charges$10.6 million
  • Airport$3.1 million
  • Ports and waterways$3.0 million
  • Transit fares$2.5 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money9.7%

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

From the federal government
9.7%$39.4 million

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$64.6 million

County and local tax money2.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
2.6%$10.5 million

Fines and other4.0%

Interest, rents and other
3.9%$15.9 million
Fines
0.1%$491 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs27%Roads, transit and parking22%Water, sewer, trash and utilities19%Police, fire, courts and jails13%Parks, recreation and libraries13%All other spending5.6%

What stands out

22%

of Duluth's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
27%$115 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$110 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$4.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
22%$92.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$37.1 million
  • Public transit$27.8 million
  • Airports$17.5 million
  • Ports and harbors$10.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
19%$82.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGas supply; water supply and 1 more
  • Gas supply$38.9 million
  • Water supply$23.6 million
  • Sewer systems$19.7 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
13%$54.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$32.2 million
  • Fire protection$22.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
13%$54.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$49.1 million
  • Libraries$5.0 million
Housing and community development
4.1%$17.5 million
Interest on debt
1.3%$5.5 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$5.3 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$172 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.1%$510 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$510 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Duluth. 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 City of Duluth 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.