County government · Beaufort County, SC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Beaufort County took in $677 million and spent $473 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, garbage collection)51%County taxes36%Fines and other5.8%State tax money5.3%Federal tax money2.5%

What stands out

51%

of Beaufort 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 taxes36%

Property tax
22%$151 million
Sales tax
10%$69.0 million
Other taxes
3.3%$22.1 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes
  • Other licenses$18.7 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$3.3 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services51%

Fees for services
51%$343 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 4 more
  • Hospital bills$300 million
  • Other service charges$19.2 million
  • Garbage collection$9.9 million
  • Sewer$6.6 million
  • Airport$6.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.4 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money2.5%

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

From the federal government
2.5%$16.8 million

State tax money5.3%

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

From the state
5.3%$36.0 million

Fines and other5.8%

Interest, rents and other
5.6%$37.8 million
Fines
0.2%$1.5 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals64%Running the government and other costs16%Police, fire, courts and jails10%Parks, recreation and libraries3.5%Water, sewer, trash and utilities2.8%All other spending3.4%

What stands out

64%

of Beaufort County's spending goes to health services and hospitals.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 5.7%.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
64%$303 million
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$288 million
  • Public health$14.8 million
Running the government and other costs
16%$75.4 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); other and not broken out and 1 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$32.2 million
  • Other and not broken out$23.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$20.0 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
10%$49.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 2 more
  • Police$31.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$9.1 million
  • Prisons and jails$6.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.5%$16.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$11.4 million
  • Libraries$5.0 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.8%$13.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste and sewer systems
  • Garbage and solid waste$10.2 million
  • Sewer systems$3.0 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.4%$11.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$6.0 million
  • Airports$5.2 million
  • Parking$19 thousand
Social services
0.6%$2.8 million
What's in social servicesWelfare institutions and other public welfare
  • Welfare institutions$2.1 million
  • Other public welfare$680 thousand
Interest on debt
0.4%$1.9 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Beaufort County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of Beaufort 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.