City government · Denton County, TX

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Denton took in $774 million and spent $919 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)61%City taxes26%Fines and other9.2%State tax money1.9%Federal tax money1.4%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

61%

of Denton'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 taxes26%

Property tax
12%$94.0 million
Sales tax
7.2%$55.9 million
Other taxes
6.6%$51.0 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$40.0 million
  • Other licenses$8.0 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$3.0 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$52 thousand
  • Amusement taxes$17 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services61%

Fees for services
61%$473 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 5 more
  • Electric power$330 million
  • Water$49.7 million
  • Garbage collection$39.3 million
  • Sewer$37.9 million
  • Other service charges$10.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.8 million
  • Airport$1.5 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.4%

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

From the federal government
1.4%$10.6 million

State tax money1.9%

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

From the state
1.9%$15.1 million

County and local tax money0.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.4%$3.0 million

Fines and other9.2%

Interest, rents and other
9.0%$69.3 million
Fines
0.2%$1.9 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities62%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Roads, transit and parking10%Interest on debt4.8%Running the government and other costs4.6%All other spending4.2%

What stands out

62%

of Denton'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
62%$574 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$371 million
  • Sewer systems$86.6 million
  • Water supply$78.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$38.5 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
14%$128 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$79.3 million
  • Fire protection$39.9 million
  • Courts and legal services$4.9 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.0 million
Roads, transit and parking
10%$92.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$90.0 million
  • Airports$2.2 million
Interest on debt
4.8%$44.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt; interest on general debt and 1 more
  • Interest on electric power debt$22.1 million
  • Interest on general debt$19.4 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$2.7 million
Running the government and other costs
4.6%$41.9 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$17.2 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$16.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$8.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.7%$34.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$27.7 million
  • Libraries$6.2 million
Housing and community development
0.3%$2.9 million
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$1.4 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.4 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Denton. 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 City of Denton 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.