County government · Los Alamos County, NM

Los Alamos County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Los Alamos County took in $232 million and spent $228 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)37%County taxes35%State tax money18%Fines and other8.4%Federal tax money1.9%Local tax money0.2%

What stands out

30%

of Los Alamos County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 1.6%.

County taxes35%

Sales tax
30%$70.6 million
Property tax
3.9%$9.1 million
Other taxes
0.4%$961 thousand
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 2 more
  • Public utility taxes$615 thousand
  • Other licenses$300 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$41 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$5 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services37%

Fees for services
37%$86.6 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 8 more
  • Electric power$51.0 million
  • Water$13.0 million
  • Gas$7.9 million
  • Sewer$6.4 million
  • Garbage collection$3.8 million
  • Transit fares$1.9 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.2 million
  • Other service charges$788 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$400 thousand
  • Airport$88 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.9%

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

From the federal government
1.9%$4.5 million

State tax money18%

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

From the state
18%$40.8 million

Local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.2%$399 thousand

Fines and other8.4%

Interest, rents and other
8.3%$19.4 million
Fines
<0.1%$66 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities49%Running the government and other costs15%Police, fire, courts and jails12%Roads, transit and parking9.5%Parks, recreation and libraries8.5%All other spending5.7%

What stands out

49%

of Los Alamos County's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people spends 0.8%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
49%$111 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 3 more
  • Electric power$70.0 million
  • Sewer systems$16.9 million
  • Water supply$13.5 million
  • Gas supply$5.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$5.0 million
Running the government and other costs
15%$34.9 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; government buildings and 2 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$15.5 million
  • Government buildings$10.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$8.8 million
  • Other government-run businesses$37 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
12%$27.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$13.9 million
  • Fire protection$11.6 million
  • Courts and legal services$2.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.5%$21.7 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$15.1 million
  • Public transit$4.9 million
  • Airports$1.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.5%$19.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$16.3 million
  • Libraries$3.1 million
Social services
3.7%$8.5 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$8.5 million
Housing and community development
1.3%$3.0 million
Interest on debt
0.7%$1.6 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 1 more
  • Interest on general debt$964 thousand
  • Interest on electric power debt$547 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$66 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Los Alamos County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of Los Alamos 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.