County government · St Louis County, MN

St. Louis County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), St. Louis County took in $446 million and spent $428 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes44%State tax money24%Federal tax money13%Fees for services (sewer, road charges)11%Fines and other6.7%Local tax money0.1%

What stands out

13%

of St. Louis County's money comes from federal tax money.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 3.6%.

County taxes44%

Property tax
39%$175 million
Sales tax
4.8%$21.5 million
Other taxes
0.2%$726 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$726 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services11%

Fees for services
11%$49.0 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; sewer and 2 more
  • Other service charges$33.6 million
  • Sewer$9.9 million
  • Road charges$5.1 million
  • Garbage collection$311 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money13%

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

From the federal government
13%$59.7 million

State tax money24%

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

From the state
24%$109 million

Local tax money0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.1%$453 thousand

Fines and other6.7%

Interest, rents and other
6.7%$30.0 million
Fines
<0.1%$74 thousand

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking30%Social services26%Police, fire, courts and jails18%Running the government and other costs15%Water, sewer, trash and utilities3.2%All other spending7.1%

What stands out

26%

of St. Louis County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 1.5%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
30%$129 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$129 million
Social services
26%$113 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$113 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
18%$79.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Police$34.0 million
  • Prisons and jails$33.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$11.1 million
  • Fire protection$665 thousand
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$8 thousand
Running the government and other costs
15%$63.3 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$53.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$8.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.2%$13.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$11.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.9 million
Environment and natural resources
2.2%$9.4 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$9.4 million
Health and hospitals
2.1%$8.9 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$8.9 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.1%$4.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$3.0 million
  • Libraries$1.8 million
Interest on debt
1.0%$4.3 million
Housing and community development
0.7%$3.0 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

St. Louis 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 St. Louis 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.