County government · Ulster County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Ulster County took in $434 million and spent $449 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes64%State tax money19%Fines and other5.1%Fees for services (college tuition, parks and recreation)5.0%Federal tax money4.9%Local tax money1.9%

What stands out

45%

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

County taxes64%

Sales tax
45%$196 million
Property tax
18%$77.4 million
Other taxes
1.3%$5.5 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$5.0 million
  • Other licenses$507 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services5.0%

Fees for services
5.0%$21.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; college tuition and 2 more
  • Other service charges$13.9 million
  • College tuition$7.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$414 thousand
  • Parking$36 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.9%

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

From the federal government
4.9%$21.3 million

State tax money19%

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

From the state
19%$81.7 million

Local tax money1.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.9%$8.4 million

Fines and other5.1%

Interest, rents and other
5.0%$21.7 million
Fines
<0.1%$307 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs26%Sent to other local governments20%Social services19%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Roads, transit and parking8.0%All other spending13%

What stands out

20%

of Ulster County's spending goes to local governments.Most U.S. counties of 50,000 to 250,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
26%$116 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$85.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$11.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$9.9 million
  • Government buildings$9.5 million
Sent to other local governments
20%$89.3 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$55.7 million
  • Sent to the state government$33.6 million
Social services
19%$87.4 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$87.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
14%$60.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; police and 4 more
  • Prisons and jails$24.1 million
  • Police$17.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$11.1 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$7.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$454 thousand
  • Fire protection$203 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
8.0%$35.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$30.8 million
  • Public transit$4.9 million
  • Parking$75 thousand
Schools and colleges
6.7%$30.3 million
What's in schools and collegesColleges and universities and scholarships and other education subsidies
  • Colleges and universities$28.5 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$1.8 million
Health and hospitals
4.7%$21.3 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$21.3 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.4%$6.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$6.0 million
  • Libraries$102 thousand
Interest on debt
0.2%$773 thousand
Housing and community development
0.2%$759 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.1%$598 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$598 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Ulster 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 Ulster 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.