City government · Bexar County, TX

San Antonio's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), San Antonio took in $7.25 billion and spent $7.35 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)66%City taxes20%Fines and other7.8%State tax money4.2%County and local tax money1.5%Federal tax money1.2%

What stands out

66%

of San Antonio'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 taxes20%

Property tax
10%$723 million
Sales tax
7.1%$515 million
Other taxes
2.8%$204 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 6 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$100 million
  • Other licenses$43.2 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$31.4 million
  • Public utility taxes$16.7 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$9.8 million
  • Amusement taxes$1.1 million
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$817 thousand
  • Amusement licenses$2 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services66%

Fees for services
66%$4.75 billion
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 12 more
  • Electric power$3.13 billion
  • Water$563 million
  • Sewer$299 million
  • Gas$234 million
  • Other service charges$166 million
  • Airport$154 million
  • Garbage collection$144 million
  • Parks and recreation$44.1 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$9.7 million
  • Parking$8.0 million
  • Other school charges$2.3 million
  • Road charges$1.0 million
  • Housing$777 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$140 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.2%

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

From the federal government
1.2%$86.2 million

State tax money4.2%

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

From the state
4.2%$301 million

County and local tax money1.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
1.5%$106 million

Fines and other7.8%

Interest, rents and other
7.7%$555 million
Fines
0.1%$7.7 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities57%Police, fire, courts and jails13%Interest on debt7.7%Running the government and other costs7.1%Roads, transit and parking4.9%All other spending10%

What stands out

57%

of San Antonio'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
57%$4.21 billion
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; gas supply and 3 more
  • Electric power$2.39 billion
  • Gas supply$656 million
  • Water supply$632 million
  • Sewer systems$375 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$161 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
13%$940 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$536 million
  • Fire protection$359 million
  • Courts and legal services$30.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$15.0 million
Interest on debt
7.7%$570 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt; interest on general debt and 1 more
  • Interest on electric power debt$288 million
  • Interest on general debt$205 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$76.7 million
Running the government and other costs
7.1%$522 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$362 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$75.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$51.0 million
  • Government buildings$32.3 million
  • Other government-run businesses$461 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
4.9%$357 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$209 million
  • Airports$140 million
  • Parking$7.6 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.8%$277 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$229 million
  • Libraries$47.3 million
Social services
2.7%$199 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$199 million
Health and hospitals
1.3%$96.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$96.1 million
Housing and community development
1.3%$95.5 million
Schools and colleges
1.1%$82.4 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$82.4 million
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$2.4 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$2.4 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
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of San Antonio. 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 San Antonio 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.