County government · Dallas County, TX

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Dallas County took in $5.77 billion and spent $5.66 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, parking)48%County taxes27%State tax money16%Federal tax money4.4%Fines and other3.2%Local tax money0.7%

What stands out

48%

of Dallas County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 14%.

County taxes27%

Property tax
26%$1.50 billion
Other taxes
0.9%$54.3 million
What's in other taxesMotor vehicle licenses; alcoholic beverage licenses and 2 more
  • Motor vehicle licenses$52.7 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$904 thousand
  • Amusement licenses$665 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$24 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services48%

Fees for services
48%$2.78 billion
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; other service charges and 4 more
  • Hospital bills$2.69 billion
  • Other service charges$86.1 million
  • Parking$3.7 million
  • Road charges$75 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$56 thousand
  • Housing$50 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.4%

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

From the federal government
4.4%$254 million

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$947 million

Local tax money0.7%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.7%$42.4 million

Fines and other3.2%

Interest, rents and other
3.2%$182 million
Fines
<0.1%$4.6 million

Where it goes

Health and hospitals76%Running the government and other costs9.2%Police, fire, courts and jails9.1%Social services2.6%Roads, transit and parking1.0%All other spending1.9%

What stands out

76%

of Dallas County's spending goes to health services and hospitals.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 7.9%.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
76%$4.31 billion
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$4.11 billion
  • Public health$195 million
Running the government and other costs
9.2%$523 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$310 million
  • Government buildings$118 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$52.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$42.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.1%$516 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; courts and legal services and 3 more
  • Prisons and jails$211 million
  • Courts and legal services$195 million
  • Police$67.5 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$41.1 million
  • Fire protection$1.3 million
Social services
2.6%$149 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$149 million
Roads, transit and parking
1.0%$54.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$54.9 million
Housing and community development
0.9%$52.0 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$47.0 million
Schools and colleges
0.1%$8.4 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$8.4 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$441 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$441 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$125 thousand
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$125 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Dallas County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of Dallas 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.