County government · Guilford County, NC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Guilford County took in $1.74 billion and spent $1.86 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money49%County taxes40%Fines and other3.6%Federal tax money3.1%Fees for services (hospital bills, college tuition)3.1%Local tax money1.1%

What stands out

49%

of Guilford County's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 19%.

County taxes40%

Property tax
31%$546 million
Sales tax
7.9%$137 million
Other taxes
1.0%$17.4 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 3 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$8.5 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$3.8 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$2.5 million
  • Other licenses$1.6 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services3.1%

Fees for services
3.1%$54.1 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; college tuition and 10 more
  • Hospital bills$22.5 million
  • College tuition$7.4 million
  • School tuition and transportation$6.7 million
  • School lunches$6.6 million
  • University housing and dining$4.9 million
  • Other government-run businesses$2.7 million
  • Other service charges$1.7 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.5 million
  • Other school charges$58 thousand
  • Parking$15 thousand
  • Garbage collection$8 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$1 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.1%

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

From the federal government
3.1%$54.5 million

State tax money49%

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

From the state
49%$852 million

Local tax money1.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.1%$19.0 million

Fines and other3.6%

Interest, rents and other
3.4%$58.6 million
Fines
0.2%$3.7 million

Where it goes

Schools and colleges72%Police, fire, courts and jails6.7%Social services5.5%Running the government and other costs4.8%Health and hospitals4.6%All other spending6.4%

What stands out

72%

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

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
72%$1.34 billion
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools; colleges and universities and 2 more
  • Elementary and secondary schools$1.23 billion
  • Colleges and universities$93.5 million
  • College housing, dining and bookstores$8.7 million
  • Scholarships and other education subsidies$3.6 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
6.7%$124 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Police$65.8 million
  • Prisons and jails$45.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.9 million
  • Fire protection$4.0 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.2 million
Social services
5.5%$102 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$102 million
Running the government and other costs
4.8%$89.5 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); other and not broken out and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$43.3 million
  • Other and not broken out$22.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$19.6 million
  • Government buildings$4.6 million
Health and hospitals
4.6%$86.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$86.1 million
Sent to other local governments
3.4%$62.6 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$60.4 million
  • Sent to the state government$2.2 million
Interest on debt
2.3%$43.3 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$44.7 million
  • Interest on water supply debt-$1.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.3%$6.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$6.2 million
Housing and community development
0.2%$3.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.1%$2.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$2.0 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$728 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$728 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Guilford County. 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 Guilford 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.