City government · Clay County, MN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Moorhead took in $148 million and spent $134 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)59%State tax money16%City taxes13%Fines and other8.7%Federal tax money2.5%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

59%

of Moorhead's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 30%.

City taxes13%

Property tax
12%$18.4 million
Other taxes
0.8%$1.2 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes
  • Public utility taxes$1.2 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services59%

Fees for services
59%$87.7 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 7 more
  • Electric power$44.9 million
  • Water$12.0 million
  • Sewer$10.0 million
  • Garbage collection$7.8 million
  • Other service charges$7.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.6 million
  • Road charges$2.1 million
  • Transit fares$905 thousand
  • Airport$70 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money2.5%

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

From the federal government
2.5%$3.7 million

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$23.8 million

County and local tax money0.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.4%$662 thousand

Fines and other8.7%

Interest, rents and other
8.7%$12.9 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities51%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Running the government and other costs10%Parks, recreation and libraries8.9%Interest on debt6.0%All other spending7.2%

What stands out

51%

of Moorhead's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
51%$68.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$44.2 million
  • Sewer systems$12.9 million
  • Water supply$9.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$22.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$11.7 million
  • Fire protection$6.3 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$962 thousand
Running the government and other costs
10%$14.0 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$6.7 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.9 million
  • Other and not broken out$2.9 million
  • Government buildings$518 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.9%$12.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$9.9 million
  • Libraries$2.0 million
Interest on debt
6.0%$8.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
5.7%$7.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$4.2 million
  • Roads and highways$3.3 million
  • Airports$174 thousand
Housing and community development
1.6%$2.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Moorhead. 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 Moorhead 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.