County government · Mercer County, PA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Mercer County took in $75.5 million and spent $72.8 million.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money53%County taxes39%Fees for services5.9%Fines and other2.2%

What stands out

53%

of Mercer County's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 22%.

County taxes39%

Property tax
39%$29.4 million
Other taxes
<0.1%$24 thousand
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes
  • Other selective sales taxes$24 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services5.9%

Fees for services
5.9%$4.4 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges
  • Other service charges$4.4 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money53%

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

From the state
53%$40.0 million

Fines and other2.2%

Interest, rents and other
1.7%$1.3 million
Fines
0.4%$324 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails33%Social services20%Health and hospitals19%Running the government and other costs16%Roads, transit and parking7.1%All other spending5.2%

What stands out

20%

of Mercer 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
33%$24.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Courts and legal services$10.0 million
  • Prisons and jails$9.5 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$2.5 million
  • Police$2.1 million
Social services
20%$14.2 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$14.2 million
Health and hospitals
19%$14.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$14.0 million
Running the government and other costs
16%$11.3 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$5.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.8 million
  • Government buildings$1.1 million
  • Other and not broken out$1.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
7.1%$5.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$5.2 million
Housing and community development
3.9%$2.8 million
Interest on debt
1.2%$902 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
<0.1%$38 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$38 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Mercer 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 Mercer 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.