County government · Albany County, NY

Albany County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Albany County took in $930 million and spent $947 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes66%State tax money18%Fees for services (parks and recreation, sewer)8.3%Fines and other3.6%Local tax money2.9%Federal tax money0.9%

What stands out

54%

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

County taxes66%

Sales tax
54%$501 million
Property tax
11%$98.8 million
Other taxes
1.4%$13.2 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$9.3 million
  • Other licenses$3.9 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$44 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services8.3%

Fees for services
8.3%$77.3 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$64.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$9.1 million
  • Sewer$3.0 million
  • Parking$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.9%

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

From the federal government
0.9%$8.3 million

State tax money18%

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

From the state
18%$171 million

Local tax money2.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
2.9%$26.8 million

Fines and other3.6%

Interest, rents and other
3.6%$33.7 million
Fines
<0.1%$232 thousand

Where it goes

Sent to other local governments38%Running the government and other costs16%Social services15%Health and hospitals10%Police, fire, courts and jails10%All other spending10%

What stands out

38%

of Albany County's spending goes to local governments.Most U.S. counties of 250,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Sent to other local governments
38%$362 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$299 million
  • Sent to the state government$63.1 million
Running the government and other costs
16%$147 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$110 million
  • Government buildings$16.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$13.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$6.5 million
Social services
15%$146 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$146 million
Health and hospitals
10%$98.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$98.0 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
10%$97.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; police and 2 more
  • Prisons and jails$40.7 million
  • Police$25.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$23.7 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$7.7 million
Roads, transit and parking
4.2%$40.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$38.5 million
  • Public transit$1.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.5%$24.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems
  • Sewer systems$24.0 million
Interest on debt
2.5%$23.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.9%$8.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$7.0 million
  • Libraries$1.2 million
Environment and natural resources
0.1%$1.2 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.2 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Albany 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 Albany 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.