City government · Erie County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Buffalo took in $1.73 billion and spent $2.05 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money67%Fees for services (sewer, water)9.5%County and local tax money7.4%City taxes6.4%Federal tax money6.3%Fines and other3.8%

What stands out

67%

of Buffalo's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 6.4%.

City taxes6.4%

Property tax
5.1%$87.6 million
Other taxes
1.3%$22.7 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 2 more
  • Public utility taxes$12.1 million
  • Other licenses$8.8 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$1.9 million
  • Amusement licenses$30 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services9.5%

Fees for services
9.5%$164 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 6 more
  • Sewer$63.2 million
  • Water$49.2 million
  • Garbage collection$25.9 million
  • Other service charges$17.1 million
  • Parking$7.5 million
  • School lunches$1.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$339 thousand
  • Other school charges$11 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money6.3%

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

From the federal government
6.3%$109 million

State tax money67%

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

From the state
67%$1.15 billion

County and local tax money7.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
7.4%$127 million

Fines and other3.8%

Interest, rents and other
3.4%$58.3 million
Fines
0.4%$6.9 million

Where it goes

Schools and colleges57%Running the government and other costs17%Police, fire, courts and jails10%Water, sewer, trash and utilities8.0%Roads, transit and parking3.4%All other spending3.9%

What stands out

57%

of Buffalo's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. cities of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
57%$1.17 billion
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$1.17 billion
Running the government and other costs
17%$353 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$313 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$17.3 million
  • Government buildings$13.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$9.2 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
10%$212 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$115 million
  • Fire protection$86.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$6.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$4.9 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
8.0%$164 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Garbage and solid waste$66.2 million
  • Sewer systems$65.2 million
  • Water supply$32.6 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.4%$69.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$66.1 million
  • Parking$3.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.0%$41.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$41.3 million
  • Libraries$569 thousand
Interest on debt
1.6%$33.2 million
Sent to other local governments
0.2%$3.5 million
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$3.5 million
Health and hospitals
0.1%$2.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$2.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Buffalo. 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 City of Buffalo 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.