City government · Knox County, TN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Knoxville took in $1.40 billion and spent $1.54 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, sewer)70%City taxes18%Fines and other6.4%State tax money4.9%Federal tax money0.9%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

70%

of Knoxville'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 taxes18%

Property tax
10%$141 million
Sales tax
4.1%$57.2 million
Other taxes
3.8%$53.2 million
What's in other taxesAlcoholic beverage taxes; occupation and business licenses and 4 more
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$17.9 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$16.5 million
  • Public utility taxes$10.2 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$5.8 million
  • Amusement taxes$2.4 million
  • Other licenses$419 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services70%

Fees for services
70%$980 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; sewer and 8 more
  • Electric power$640 million
  • Sewer$121 million
  • Gas$120 million
  • Water$73.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$10.2 million
  • Transit fares$6.5 million
  • Parking$4.7 million
  • Other service charges$2.4 million
  • Garbage collection$2.3 million
  • Housing$454 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.9%

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

From the federal government
0.9%$12.7 million

State tax money4.9%

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

From the state
4.9%$68.6 million

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$3.2 million

Fines and other6.4%

Interest, rents and other
5.9%$82.9 million
Fines
0.5%$6.3 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities69%Running the government and other costs12%Police, fire, courts and jails9.2%Roads, transit and parking3.6%Parks, recreation and libraries3.2%All other spending3.4%

What stands out

69%

of Knoxville'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
69%$1.06 billion
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 3 more
  • Electric power$679 million
  • Sewer systems$155 million
  • Gas supply$127 million
  • Water supply$85.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$13.0 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$178 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$165 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$8.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$5.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.2%$142 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$77.2 million
  • Fire protection$56.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.6%$55.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$38.3 million
  • Roads and highways$12.1 million
  • Parking$5.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.2%$49.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$49.3 million
Interest on debt
2.5%$38.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 2 more
  • Interest on general debt$21.4 million
  • Interest on electric power debt$8.9 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$5.5 million
  • Interest on gas supply debt$3.2 million
Housing and community development
0.8%$12.8 million
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$1.2 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$1.2 million
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$13 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$13 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Knoxville. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of City of Knoxville 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.