County government · Charleston County, SC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Charleston County took in $855 million and spent $482 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes58%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks and recreation)24%Fines and other9.1%State tax money7.4%Federal tax money1.6%

What stands out

32%

of Charleston County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 2.7%.

County taxes58%

Sales tax
32%$272 million
Property tax
24%$203 million
Other taxes
2.1%$18.3 million
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; other licenses and 3 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$5.4 million
  • Other licenses$5.4 million
  • Public utility licenses$3.1 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$2.8 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$1.5 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services24%

Fees for services
24%$207 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 3 more
  • Other service charges$120 million
  • Garbage collection$55.9 million
  • Parks and recreation$25.3 million
  • Parking$3.7 million
  • Hospital bills$1.8 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.6%

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

From the federal government
1.6%$13.3 million

State tax money7.4%

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

From the state
7.4%$63.5 million

Fines and other9.1%

Interest, rents and other
8.8%$75.6 million
Fines
0.2%$1.9 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails27%Running the government and other costs25%Parks, recreation and libraries24%Roads, transit and parking10%Water, sewer, trash and utilities8.4%All other spending5.6%

What stands out

24%

of Charleston County's spending goes to parks, recreation and libraries.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 2.6%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$129 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 2 more
  • Police$97.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$27.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$3.1 million
  • Fire protection$1.4 million
Running the government and other costs
25%$122 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$55.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$29.9 million
  • Government buildings$22.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$14.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
24%$114 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$78.5 million
  • Libraries$35.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
10%$49.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$46.3 million
  • Parking$3.1 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
8.4%$40.5 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$40.5 million
Health and hospitals
5.3%$25.7 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$25.7 million
Social services
0.2%$1.1 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.1 million
Interest on debt
<0.1%$414 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Charleston 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 Charleston 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.