City government · Lancaster County, NE

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended August 31, 2023), Lincoln took in $501 million and spent $538 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes56%Fees for services (sewer, water)19%Fines and other9.8%Federal tax money8.7%State tax money6.1%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

20%

of Lincoln's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.8%.

City taxes56%

Sales tax
20%$100 million
Property tax
19%$96.0 million
Other taxes
17%$84.3 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; occupation and business licenses and 1 more
  • Other licenses$47.3 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$30.0 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$7.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services19%

Fees for services
19%$95.4 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; sewer and 5 more
  • Other service charges$22.8 million
  • Sewer$22.3 million
  • Water$21.8 million
  • Gas$17.7 million
  • Parks and recreation$6.3 million
  • Transit fares$2.7 million
  • Garbage collection$1.7 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money8.7%

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

From the federal government
8.7%$43.6 million

State tax money6.1%

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

From the state
6.1%$30.7 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%$2.2 million

Fines and other9.8%

Interest, rents and other
9.8%$49.4 million

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking26%Police, fire, courts and jails22%Water, sewer, trash and utilities21%Running the government and other costs14%Parks, recreation and libraries9.7%All other spending7.1%

What stands out

26%

of Lincoln's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
26%$142 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$120 million
  • Public transit$21.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
22%$120 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$63.2 million
  • Fire protection$40.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$16.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
21%$112 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Water supply$49.3 million
  • Sewer systems$34.2 million
  • Gas supply$15.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$13.7 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$73.0 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$33.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$23.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$11.1 million
  • Government buildings$4.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
9.7%$52.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$39.1 million
  • Libraries$13.0 million
Social services
2.7%$14.7 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$14.7 million
Housing and community development
2.4%$12.8 million
Health and hospitals
1.9%$10.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$10.2 million
Interest on debt
0.1%$670 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lincoln. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended August 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Lincoln 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.