County government · Hamilton County, OH

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Hamilton County took in $1.67 billion and spent $1.15 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes38%Fees for services (sewer, parking)30%State tax money23%Fines and other8.5%Federal tax money<0.1%

What stands out

17%

of Hamilton County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 2.7%.

County taxes38%

Property tax
19%$312 million
Sales tax
17%$291 million
Other taxes
1.8%$30.0 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$15.4 million
  • Other licenses$7.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$6.8 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services30%

Fees for services
30%$509 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 3 more
  • Sewer$281 million
  • Other service charges$207 million
  • Parking$14.7 million
  • Road charges$3.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$3.0 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money<0.1%

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

From the federal government
<0.1%$1.1 million

State tax money23%

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

From the state
23%$386 million

Fines and other8.5%

Interest, rents and other
7.1%$119 million
Fines
1.4%$23.7 million

Where it goes

Social services27%Police, fire, courts and jails19%Water, sewer, trash and utilities17%Health and hospitals17%Running the government and other costs12%All other spending7.9%

What stands out

27%

of Hamilton County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 4.3%.

Spending by category100%

Social services
27%$315 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$315 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
19%$216 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; police and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$103 million
  • Police$98.8 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$13.2 million
  • Fire protection$794 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
17%$197 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems
  • Sewer systems$197 million
Health and hospitals
17%$191 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$191 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$143 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); government buildings and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$66.8 million
  • Government buildings$35.3 million
  • Other and not broken out$23.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$17.5 million
Roads, transit and parking
5.4%$62.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$49.4 million
  • Parking$12.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.4%$28.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$28.2 million
Interest on debt
<0.1%$68 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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.