County government · Howard County, TX

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Howard County took in $32.6 million and spent $29.6 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes68%State tax money16%Fines and other7.0%Fees for services6.5%Local tax money1.9%

What stands out

66%

of Howard County's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 28%.

County taxes68%

Property tax
66%$21.5 million
Other taxes
2.2%$725 thousand
What's in other taxesMotor vehicle licenses and alcoholic beverage licenses
  • Motor vehicle licenses$720 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$5 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services6.5%

Fees for services
6.5%$2.1 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges
  • Other service charges$2.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$5.4 million

Local tax money1.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.9%$620 thousand

Fines and other7.0%

Interest, rents and other
5.8%$1.9 million
Fines
1.2%$396 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails36%Running the government and other costs27%Roads, transit and parking26%Sent to other local governments6.7%Parks, recreation and libraries1.9%All other spending2.8%

What stands out

6.7%

of Howard County's spending goes to local governments.Most U.S. counties of under 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
36%$10.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 3 more
  • Police$4.3 million
  • Prisons and jails$3.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.0 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$110 thousand
  • Fire protection$69 thousand
Running the government and other costs
27%$7.9 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$4.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.5 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$835 thousand
  • Government buildings$750 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
26%$7.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$7.6 million
Sent to other local governments
6.7%$2.0 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$2.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.9%$554 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries
  • Libraries$554 thousand
Health and hospitals
1.0%$290 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$290 thousand
Interest on debt
0.8%$246 thousand
Social services
0.6%$187 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$187 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.4%$113 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$113 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Howard 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 Howard 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.