City government · Alamance County, NC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Burlington took in $133 million and spent $124 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes47%Fees for services (water, garbage collection)41%County and local tax money5.0%State tax money5.0%Fines and other2.0%

What stands out

16%

of Burlington's money comes from taxes other than property, sales and income taxes.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.2%.

City taxes47%

Property tax
32%$41.9 million
Other taxes
16%$21.1 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$21.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services41%

Fees for services
41%$53.8 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; garbage collection and 3 more
  • Water$43.7 million
  • Garbage collection$3.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.4 million
  • Other government-run businesses$2.2 million
  • Other service charges$2.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money5.0%

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

From the state
5.0%$6.6 million

County and local tax money5.0%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
5.0%$6.7 million

Fines and other2.0%

Interest, rents and other
2.0%$2.7 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails38%Water, sewer, trash and utilities29%Running the government and other costs20%Parks, recreation and libraries8.8%Roads, transit and parking3.3%All other spending1.1%

What stands out

38%

of Burlington's spending goes to police, fire, courts and jails.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 25%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
38%$46.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$31.4 million
  • Fire protection$15.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$285 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
29%$35.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply and garbage and solid waste
  • Water supply$29.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$6.6 million
Running the government and other costs
20%$25.4 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$17.5 million
  • Government buildings$3.8 million
  • Other government-run businesses$1.7 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.8%$10.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$10.7 million
  • Libraries$163 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
3.3%$4.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit and roads and highways
  • Public transit$2.1 million
  • Roads and highways$2.0 million
Housing and community development
1.0%$1.2 million
Interest on debt
0.2%$192 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Burlington. 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 Burlington 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.