County government · Ramsey County, MN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Ramsey County took in $1.18 billion and spent $767 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes39%Fines and other24%State tax money15%Federal tax money11%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks and recreation)10%Local tax money1.2%

What stands out

24%

of Ramsey County's money comes from interest, rents and other revenue.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 6%.

County taxes39%

Property tax
34%$399 million
Sales tax
4.6%$54.0 million
Other taxes
0.3%$3.1 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and real estate and stock transfer taxes
  • Other licenses$2.0 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services10%

Fees for services
10%$120 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 2 more
  • Other service charges$79.1 million
  • Garbage collection$30.7 million
  • Parks and recreation$9.5 million
  • Road charges$1.1 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%$128 million

State tax money15%

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

From the state
15%$177 million

Local tax money1.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.2%$14.8 million

Fines and other24%

Interest, rents and other
24%$284 million
Fines
<0.1%$214 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails30%Social services28%Running the government and other costs12%Roads, transit and parking10%Health and hospitals5.7%All other spending14%

What stands out

28%

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

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
30%$232 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$105 million
  • Prisons and jails$70.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$56.7 million
Social services
28%$212 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare and welfare institutions
  • Other public welfare$200 million
  • Welfare institutions$12.0 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$95.2 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$35.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$33.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$26.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
10%$79.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$64.5 million
  • Public transit$14.6 million
Health and hospitals
5.7%$43.5 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$43.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.6%$42.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$25.8 million
  • Libraries$17.0 million
Housing and community development
3.8%$29.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.2%$24.4 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$24.4 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$6.7 million
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$1.2 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.2 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Ramsey 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 Ramsey 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.