County government · Lackawanna County, PA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Lackawanna County took in $280 million and spent $305 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes34%Fees for services33%State tax money26%Federal tax money3.6%Fines and other2.6%Local tax money0.1%

What stands out

33%

of Lackawanna County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 11%.

County taxes34%

Property tax
33%$92.5 million
Other taxes
1.5%$4.1 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes
  • Other selective sales taxes$4.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services33%

Fees for services
33%$92.2 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges
  • Other service charges$92.2 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.6%

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

From the federal government
3.6%$10.2 million

State tax money26%

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

From the state
26%$73.9 million

Local tax money0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.1%$348 thousand

Fines and other2.6%

Interest, rents and other
2.5%$7.0 million
Fines
<0.1%$164 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails49%Running the government and other costs18%Social services16%Parks, recreation and libraries5.4%Housing and community development3.6%All other spending8.2%

What stands out

16%

of Lackawanna County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 1.5%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
49%$151 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$95.6 million
  • Prisons and jails$35.7 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$10.2 million
  • Police$9.4 million
Running the government and other costs
18%$54.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting and other and not broken out
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$29.0 million
  • Other and not broken out$25.0 million
Social services
16%$47.8 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$47.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.4%$16.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$8.8 million
  • Libraries$7.6 million
Housing and community development
3.6%$11.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.6%$11.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$11.1 million
Interest on debt
2.9%$8.8 million
Health and hospitals
1.7%$5.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$5.2 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Lackawanna 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 Lackawanna 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.