City government · Hamilton County, TN

Chattanooga's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Chattanooga took in $1.62 billion and spent $1.42 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, sewer)69%City taxes14%County and local tax money6.7%State tax money3.7%Fines and other3.2%Federal tax money3.0%

What stands out

69%

of Chattanooga's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 30%.

City taxes14%

Property tax
12%$191 million
Other taxes
2.5%$39.9 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 5 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$11.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$10.3 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$8.4 million
  • Other licenses$4.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$4.7 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$410 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$229 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services69%

Fees for services
69%$1.11 billion
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; sewer and 6 more
  • Electric power$809 million
  • Sewer$158 million
  • Other service charges$91.7 million
  • Airport$36.5 million
  • Transit fares$11.6 million
  • Garbage collection$5.9 million
  • Parking$1.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$441 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.0%

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

From the federal government
3.0%$48.2 million

State tax money3.7%

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

From the state
3.7%$60.3 million

County and local tax money6.7%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
6.7%$109 million

Fines and other3.2%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$50.7 million
Fines
0.1%$1.8 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities63%Running the government and other costs12%Police, fire, courts and jails12%Roads, transit and parking6.3%Parks, recreation and libraries2.8%All other spending3.2%

What stands out

63%

of Chattanooga's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 20%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
63%$902 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Electric power$774 million
  • Sewer systems$102 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$25.5 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$178 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$139 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$19.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$16.1 million
  • Government buildings$3.6 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
12%$171 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$88.8 million
  • Fire protection$66.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$9.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$5.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.3%$89.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; airports and 2 more
  • Public transit$38.5 million
  • Airports$32.4 million
  • Roads and highways$17.5 million
  • Parking$689 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.8%$39.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$31.7 million
  • Libraries$7.9 million
Interest on debt
1.5%$21.7 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt and interest on general debt
  • Interest on electric power debt$11.5 million
  • Interest on general debt$10.2 million
Housing and community development
0.8%$11.0 million
Social services
0.3%$4.9 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$4.9 million
Health and hospitals
0.3%$4.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$4.8 million
Sent to other local governments
0.2%$2.1 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$2.1 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$1.1 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Chattanooga. 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 City of Chattanooga 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.