City government · Fairfield County, OH

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Lancaster took in $139 million and spent $157 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, gas)51%City taxes31%State tax money9.4%Fines and other7.8%

What stands out

51%

of Lancaster's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 30%.

City taxes31%

Property tax
31%$43.6 million
Other taxes
<0.1%$65 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$65 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services51%

Fees for services
51%$71.2 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; gas and 4 more
  • Water$23.4 million
  • Gas$21.2 million
  • Ports and waterways$12.5 million
  • Other service charges$6.4 million
  • Garbage collection$4.7 million
  • Sewer$3.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money9.4%

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

From the state
9.4%$13.0 million

Fines and other7.8%

Interest, rents and other
5.1%$7.1 million
Fines
2.7%$3.7 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities52%Police, fire, courts and jails18%Roads, transit and parking13%Interest on debt6.1%Running the government and other costs5.8%All other spending4.9%

What stands out

52%

of Lancaster's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
52%$82.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; gas supply and 2 more
  • Water supply$56.9 million
  • Gas supply$18.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$4.5 million
  • Sewer systems$1.9 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
18%$29.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$12.3 million
  • Fire protection$10.9 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.0 million
  • Inspections and regulation$755 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
13%$20.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPorts and harbors; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Ports and harbors$10.3 million
  • Roads and highways$7.7 million
  • Public transit$2.0 million
Interest on debt
6.1%$9.5 million
Running the government and other costs
5.8%$9.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$5.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$744 thousand
  • Government buildings$333 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$28 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.2%$3.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$3.4 million
Sent to other local governments
1.4%$2.2 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government
  • Sent to the state government$2.2 million
Health and hospitals
0.7%$1.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.2 million
Housing and community development
0.6%$1.0 million
Social services
<0.1%$18 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$18 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lancaster. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of City of Lancaster 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.