City government · Onondaga County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Syracuse took in $940 million and spent $1.01 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money64%County and local tax money13%City taxes7.7%Federal tax money5.2%Fees for services (water, parking)5.2%Fines and other5.0%

What stands out

64%

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

City taxes7.7%

Property tax
6.8%$64.1 million
Other taxes
0.9%$8.5 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 2 more
  • Other licenses$4.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$3.7 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$72 thousand
  • Amusement licenses$6 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services5.2%

Fees for services
5.2%$49.0 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; other service charges and 5 more
  • Water$26.8 million
  • Other service charges$10.4 million
  • Parking$5.4 million
  • Sewer$5.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$746 thousand
  • Other school charges$122 thousand
  • School lunches$92 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money5.2%

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

From the federal government
5.2%$49.1 million

State tax money64%

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

From the state
64%$602 million

County and local tax money13%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
13%$120 million

Fines and other5.0%

Interest, rents and other
4.7%$44.5 million
Fines
0.3%$2.8 million

Where it goes

Schools and colleges58%Running the government and other costs14%Police, fire, courts and jails12%Roads, transit and parking6.5%Water, sewer, trash and utilities3.9%All other spending4.9%

What stands out

58%

of Syracuse'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
58%$586 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$586 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$143 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$127 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$6.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$5.1 million
  • Government buildings$4.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
12%$122 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$65.0 million
  • Fire protection$46.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$5.0 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.5%$65.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$65.9 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
3.9%$39.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$16.0 million
  • Sewer systems$14.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$9.1 million
Sent to other local governments
1.8%$18.3 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$18.3 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.7%$17.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$17.2 million
Interest on debt
1.4%$13.7 million
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$295 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$295 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Syracuse. 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 Syracuse 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.