City government · Pennington County, SD

Rapid City's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Rapid City took in $208 million and spent $183 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes53%Fees for services (water, sewer)35%Federal tax money4.7%Fines and other3.5%State tax money3.4%County and local tax money0.3%

What stands out

38%

of Rapid City's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.8%.

City taxes53%

Sales tax
38%$79.0 million
Property tax
15%$31.2 million
Other taxes
0.1%$276 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$276 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services35%

Fees for services
35%$72.6 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 8 more
  • Water$25.5 million
  • Sewer$14.8 million
  • Garbage collection$12.6 million
  • Airport$12.4 million
  • Other service charges$3.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.8 million
  • Parking$1.6 million
  • Other government-run businesses$298 thousand
  • Road charges$298 thousand
  • Transit fares$36 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.7%

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

From the federal government
4.7%$9.7 million

State tax money3.4%

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

From the state
3.4%$7.1 million

County and local tax money0.3%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.3%$647 thousand

Fines and other3.5%

Interest, rents and other
3.5%$7.3 million
Fines
<0.1%$2 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails28%Water, sewer, trash and utilities25%Roads, transit and parking18%Parks, recreation and libraries15%Interest on debt4.5%All other spending9.8%

What stands out

2.3%

of Rapid City's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
28%$51.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$25.9 million
  • Fire protection$25.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$534 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
25%$45.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$16.8 million
  • Sewer systems$15.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$13.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
18%$32.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingAirports; roads and highways and 2 more
  • Airports$20.1 million
  • Roads and highways$7.7 million
  • Public transit$3.1 million
  • Parking$1.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
15%$28.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$24.5 million
  • Libraries$3.8 million
Interest on debt
4.5%$8.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on water supply debt and interest on general debt
  • Interest on water supply debt$4.6 million
  • Interest on general debt$3.7 million
Health and hospitals
3.2%$5.9 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$5.9 million
Running the government and other costs
2.3%$4.3 million
What's in running the government and other costsGovernment buildings; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 3 more
  • Government buildings$1.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$929 thousand
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$839 thousand
  • Other and not broken out$637 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$415 thousand
Environment and natural resources
1.7%$3.0 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$3.0 million
Social services
1.4%$2.6 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$2.6 million
Sent to other local governments
1.1%$2.0 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$2.0 million
Housing and community development
<0.1%$93 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Rapid City. 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 City of Rapid City 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.