City government · Shelby County, TN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Memphis took in $3.64 billion and spent $3.22 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, gas)58%City taxes16%State tax money13%Fines and other7.4%County and local tax money3.0%Federal tax money1.7%

What stands out

58%

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

City taxes16%

Property tax
7.9%$287 million
Sales tax
6.5%$236 million
Other taxes
2.0%$74.2 million
What's in other taxesAlcoholic beverage taxes; other selective sales taxes and 4 more
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$32.0 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$28.2 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$11.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$1.1 million
  • Other licenses$809 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$280 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services58%

Fees for services
58%$2.12 billion
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; gas and 8 more
  • Electric power$1.38 billion
  • Gas$257 million
  • Sewer$161 million
  • Water$131 million
  • Garbage collection$77.8 million
  • Other service charges$54.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$48.2 million
  • Transit fares$2.8 million
  • Parking$2.8 million
  • Ports and waterways$2.5 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.7%

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

From the federal government
1.7%$60.4 million

State tax money13%

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

From the state
13%$480 million

County and local tax money3.0%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
3.0%$109 million

Fines and other7.4%

Interest, rents and other
7.1%$260 million
Fines
0.3%$11.1 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities59%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Running the government and other costs12%Roads, transit and parking3.9%Housing and community development3.7%All other spending4.1%

What stands out

59%

of Memphis' 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
59%$1.91 billion
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; gas supply and 3 more
  • Electric power$1.39 billion
  • Gas supply$228 million
  • Water supply$115 million
  • Sewer systems$102 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$76.7 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$551 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$309 million
  • Fire protection$215 million
  • Courts and legal services$26.4 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$382 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$282 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$36.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$35.5 million
  • Government buildings$27.3 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.9%$125 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 2 more
  • Public transit$81.7 million
  • Roads and highways$36.9 million
  • Parking$4.1 million
  • Ports and harbors$1.8 million
Housing and community development
3.7%$121 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.3%$108 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$85.1 million
  • Libraries$22.6 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$24.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 2 more
  • Interest on general debt$15.8 million
  • Interest on electric power debt$5.3 million
  • Interest on gas supply debt$2.1 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$1.8 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Memphis. 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 Memphis 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.