City government · New Hanover County, NC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Wilmington took in $238 million and spent $287 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes59%Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)18%State tax money11%Fines and other10%Federal tax money1.0%

What stands out

38%

of Wilmington's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 20%.

City taxes59%

Property tax
38%$90.3 million
Sales tax
18%$43.0 million
Other taxes
3.3%$8.0 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; motor vehicle licenses and 2 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$6.8 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$980 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$154 thousand
  • Other licenses$14 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services18%

Fees for services
18%$44.0 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 4 more
  • Sewer$13.2 million
  • Garbage collection$12.2 million
  • Parking$6.8 million
  • Other government-run businesses$6.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.0 million
  • Other service charges$1.4 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.0%

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

From the federal government
1.0%$2.5 million

State tax money11%

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

From the state
11%$26.1 million

County and local tax money<0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
<0.1%$99 thousand

Fines and other10%

Interest, rents and other
9.7%$23.0 million
Fines
0.5%$1.3 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs28%Police, fire, courts and jails26%Roads, transit and parking16%Parks, recreation and libraries11%Water, sewer, trash and utilities9.6%All other spending10%

What stands out

28%

of Wilmington's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
28%$79.9 million
What's in running the government and other costsGovernment buildings; other and not broken out and 2 more
  • Government buildings$45.5 million
  • Other and not broken out$18.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$11.9 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.8 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
26%$75.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$48.5 million
  • Fire protection$24.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$1.8 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
16%$44.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingParking; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Parking$20.2 million
  • Roads and highways$18.4 million
  • Public transit$6.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
11%$30.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$30.5 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
9.6%$27.4 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$14.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$10.7 million
  • Electric power$2.6 million
Interest on debt
5.1%$14.6 million
Housing and community development
3.5%$9.9 million
Environment and natural resources
1.1%$3.3 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$3.3 million
Social services
0.4%$1.1 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Wilmington. 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 Wilmington 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.