County government · St Louis County, MO

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 $1.00 billion and spent $759 million.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

County taxes61%Fees for services (airport, parks and recreation)20%Fines and other9.6%State tax money6.8%Federal tax money1.8%

What stands out

45%

of St. Louis County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 2.7%.

County taxes61%

Sales tax
45%$451 million
Property tax
12%$119 million
Other taxes
4.7%$47.3 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$19.6 million
  • Public utility taxes$18.1 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$9.5 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services20%

Fees for services
20%$204 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; airport and 5 more
  • Other service charges$162 million
  • Airport$26.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$5.9 million
  • Water$4.2 million
  • Sewer$3.0 million
  • Garbage collection$1.8 million
  • Road charges$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.8%

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

From the federal government
1.8%$18.5 million

State tax money6.8%

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

From the state
6.8%$68.5 million

Fines and other9.6%

Interest, rents and other
9.5%$95.4 million
Fines
<0.1%$976 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails32%Roads, transit and parking31%Running the government and other costs14%Health and hospitals6.4%Social services5.7%All other spending9.9%

What stands out

31%

of St. Louis County's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 6.3%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
32%$245 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 3 more
  • Police$166 million
  • Courts and legal services$31.9 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$29.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$13.7 million
  • Fire protection$4.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
31%$238 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$152 million
  • Roads and highways$57.6 million
  • Airports$29.2 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$109 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$42.7 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$24.6 million
  • Government buildings$24.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$17.4 million
Health and hospitals
6.4%$48.4 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$48.4 million
Social services
5.7%$43.1 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$43.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.5%$34.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$34.2 million
Interest on debt
2.5%$19.2 million
Housing and community development
1.5%$11.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.7%$5.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$2.4 million
  • Water supply$1.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.2 million
Environment and natural resources
0.6%$4.5 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$4.5 million
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$265 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$265 thousand
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.