County government · Lancaster County, SC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Lancaster County took in $139 million and spent $120 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes66%Fees for services (parks and recreation, airport)11%Fines and other8.4%Federal tax money7.0%State tax money6.4%Local tax money1.4%

What stands out

20%

of Lancaster County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 4.2%.

County taxes66%

Property tax
41%$56.5 million
Sales tax
20%$28.2 million
Other taxes
4.7%$6.5 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes
  • Other selective sales taxes$6.5 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services11%

Fees for services
11%$15.5 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$13.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.2 million
  • Airport$358 thousand
  • Garbage collection$140 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money7.0%

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

From the federal government
7.0%$9.7 million

State tax money6.4%

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

From the state
6.4%$8.9 million

Local tax money1.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.4%$1.9 million

Fines and other8.4%

Interest, rents and other
7.8%$10.8 million
Fines
0.6%$888 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs29%Police, fire, courts and jails22%Roads, transit and parking20%Health and hospitals18%Parks, recreation and libraries5.0%All other spending5.0%

What stands out

18%

of Lancaster 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%

Running the government and other costs
29%$34.7 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)$24.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$4.5 million
  • Government buildings$4.1 million
  • Other and not broken out$1.9 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
22%$26.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 2 more
  • Police$17.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$4.0 million
  • Prisons and jails$3.8 million
  • Fire protection$1.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
20%$24.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$13.1 million
  • Airports$11.2 million
Health and hospitals
18%$21.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$21.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.0%$5.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$4.4 million
  • Libraries$1.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
4.0%$4.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$4.8 million
Interest on debt
1.0%$1.2 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Lancaster 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 Lancaster 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.