County government · Rensselaer County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Rensselaer County took in $472 million and spent $552 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes48%Fees for services (college tuition, sewer)23%State tax money16%Local tax money6.2%Fines and other4.9%Federal tax money1.0%

What stands out

34%

of Rensselaer County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 4.2%.

County taxes48%

Sales tax
34%$161 million
Property tax
14%$64.7 million
Other taxes
0.5%$2.5 million
What's in other taxesOther taxes not classified elsewhere and other selective sales taxes
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$1.6 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$911 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services23%

Fees for services
23%$111 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; college tuition and 1 more
  • Other service charges$61.3 million
  • College tuition$37.8 million
  • Sewer$11.5 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.0%

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

From the federal government
1.0%$4.9 million

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$76.5 million

Local tax money6.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
6.2%$29.1 million

Fines and other4.9%

Interest, rents and other
4.8%$22.7 million
Fines
<0.1%$306 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges23%Sent to other local governments21%Social services16%Running the government and other costs15%Health and hospitals9.7%All other spending15%

What stands out

23%

of Rensselaer County's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. counties of 50,000 to 250,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
23%$128 million
What's in schools and collegesColleges and universities and scholarships and other education subsidies
  • Colleges and universities$124 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$3.6 million
Sent to other local governments
21%$117 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$77.2 million
  • Sent to the state government$39.4 million
Social services
16%$88.4 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare and welfare institutions
  • Other public welfare$46.0 million
  • Welfare institutions$42.4 million
Running the government and other costs
15%$84.3 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$47.5 million
  • Government buildings$26.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$7.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.1 million
Health and hospitals
9.7%$53.5 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$53.5 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.1%$50.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; police and 4 more
  • Prisons and jails$23.3 million
  • Police$9.0 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$9.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$8.6 million
  • Inspections and regulation$573 thousand
  • Fire protection$71 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
3.6%$20.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$19.4 million
  • Public transit$614 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.0%$5.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems
  • Sewer systems$5.7 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$4.6 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.1%$559 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$559 thousand
Housing and community development
<0.1%$404 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$137 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$137 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Rensselaer 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 Rensselaer 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.