City government · Olmsted County, MN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Rochester took in $557 million and spent $462 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, sewer)50%City taxes26%State tax money16%Fines and other8.3%

What stands out

50%

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

City taxes26%

Property tax
18%$103 million
Sales tax
4.4%$24.3 million
Other taxes
3.1%$17.0 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$11.3 million
  • Other licenses$5.7 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services50%

Fees for services
50%$278 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; sewer and 7 more
  • Electric power$188 million
  • Sewer$41.1 million
  • Other service charges$15.1 million
  • Water$14.6 million
  • Parking$7.3 million
  • Airport$4.7 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.5 million
  • Transit fares$1.8 million
  • Road charges$755 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$89.3 million

Fines and other8.3%

Interest, rents and other
8.2%$45.8 million
Fines
<0.1%$359 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities43%Running the government and other costs26%Police, fire, courts and jails13%Roads, transit and parking9.3%Parks, recreation and libraries5.4%All other spending3.0%

What stands out

43%

of Rochester's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 20%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
43%$200 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Electric power$162 million
  • Sewer systems$21.0 million
  • Water supply$16.9 million
Running the government and other costs
26%$120 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$104 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$8.0 million
  • Government buildings$5.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
13%$61.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$37.7 million
  • Fire protection$20.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$2.5 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.3%$43.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingAirports; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Airports$18.1 million
  • Roads and highways$16.6 million
  • Parking$8.3 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.4%$24.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$15.7 million
  • Libraries$9.2 million
Interest on debt
2.6%$11.9 million
Housing and community development
0.2%$789 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$766 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$766 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$397 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$397 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Rochester. 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 Rochester 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.