County government · Lehigh County, PA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Lehigh County took in $544 million and spent $535 million.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money69%County taxes22%Fees for services4.6%Fines and other4.5%

What stands out

69%

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

County taxes22%

Property tax
22%$118 million
Other taxes
0.2%$1.2 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.2 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services4.6%

Fees for services
4.6%$24.8 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges
  • Other service charges$24.8 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money69%

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

From the state
69%$375 million

Fines and other4.5%

Interest, rents and other
3.9%$21.2 million
Fines
0.7%$3.5 million

Where it goes

Social services47%Police, fire, courts and jails19%Health and hospitals17%Running the government and other costs13%Housing and community development2.4%All other spending1.7%

What stands out

47%

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

Spending by category100%

Social services
47%$253 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare and welfare institutions
  • Other public welfare$149 million
  • Welfare institutions$104 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
19%$101 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$36.6 million
  • Prisons and jails$36.5 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$17.8 million
  • Police$10.0 million
Health and hospitals
17%$90.5 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$90.5 million
Running the government and other costs
13%$68.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$22.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$22.0 million
  • Other and not broken out$18.4 million
  • Government buildings$4.7 million
Housing and community development
2.4%$12.9 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$4.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.6%$3.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$2.3 million
  • Libraries$858 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$1.1 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
0.2%$1.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$1.0 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Lehigh 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 Lehigh 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.