County government · Suffolk County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Suffolk County took in $4.15 billion and spent $4.28 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes66%Fees for services (water, college tuition)15%Federal tax money10%State tax money6.8%Fines and other1.8%Local tax money0.3%

What stands out

47%

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

County taxes66%

Sales tax
47%$1.95 billion
Property tax
19%$774 million
Other taxes
0.2%$7.9 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$7.9 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services15%

Fees for services
15%$616 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; other service charges and 6 more
  • Water$257 million
  • Other service charges$211 million
  • College tuition$73.8 million
  • Sewer$46.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$14.9 million
  • Airport$4.8 million
  • Transit fares$4.8 million
  • University housing and dining$2.7 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money10%

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

From the federal government
10%$432 million

State tax money6.8%

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

From the state
6.8%$281 million

Local tax money0.3%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.3%$11.3 million

Fines and other1.8%

Interest, rents and other
1.7%$71.8 million
Fines
<0.1%$1.6 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs32%Police, fire, courts and jails23%Water, sewer, trash and utilities12%Social services8.9%Schools and colleges5.9%All other spending17%

What stands out

12%

of Suffolk County's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 2.6%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
32%$1.38 billion
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$1.32 billion
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$43.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$14.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
23%$1.00 billion
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 4 more
  • Police$718 million
  • Prisons and jails$134 million
  • Courts and legal services$96.2 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$32.1 million
  • Fire protection$17.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.5 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
12%$526 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Water supply$251 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$151 million
  • Sewer systems$123 million
Social services
8.9%$383 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$383 million
Schools and colleges
5.9%$252 million
What's in schools and collegesColleges and universities; scholarships and other education subsidies and 1 more
  • Colleges and universities$228 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$19.6 million
  • College housing, dining and bookstores$4.1 million
Sent to other local governments
5.7%$242 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government and sent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to the state government$218 million
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$24.6 million
Roads, transit and parking
4.8%$204 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$122 million
  • Roads and highways$80.2 million
  • Airports$1.6 million
Health and hospitals
3.8%$165 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$165 million
Interest on debt
2.1%$91.3 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$61.9 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$29.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.9%$37.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$37.4 million
Housing and community development
<0.1%$1.2 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$569 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$569 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Suffolk 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 Suffolk 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.