County government · Salt Lake County, UT

Salt Lake County's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Salt Lake County took in $1.72 billion and spent $1.62 billion.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

County taxes60%Federal tax money15%Fees for services (parks and recreation, garbage collection)8.2%Local tax money7.6%Fines and other5.6%State tax money3.7%

What stands out

35%

of Salt Lake County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people gets 2.7%.

County taxes60%

Sales tax
35%$600 million
Property tax
22%$383 million
Other taxes
2.9%$49.6 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 2 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$38.4 million
  • Other licenses$10.9 million
  • Public utility taxes$113 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$90 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services8.2%

Fees for services
8.2%$140 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$95.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$26.3 million
  • Garbage collection$18.6 million
  • Road charges$45 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money15%

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

From the federal government
15%$255 million

State tax money3.7%

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

From the state
3.7%$64.1 million

Local tax money7.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
7.6%$130 million

Fines and other5.6%

Interest, rents and other
5.4%$93.4 million
Fines
0.2%$2.7 million

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking26%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Parks, recreation and libraries14%Health and hospitals13%Social services12%All other spending19%

What stands out

26%

of Salt Lake County's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. county of 250,000+ people spends 6.3%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
26%$425 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$425 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$256 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Police$116 million
  • Prisons and jails$102 million
  • Courts and legal services$37.8 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$113 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
14%$232 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$186 million
  • Libraries$46.2 million
Health and hospitals
13%$206 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$206 million
Social services
12%$194 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$194 million
Running the government and other costs
11%$179 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$103 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$41.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$28.4 million
  • Government buildings$6.8 million
Housing and community development
5.3%$85.8 million
Interest on debt
1.2%$19.0 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.0%$16.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$16.7 million
Environment and natural resources
0.6%$9.1 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$9.1 million
Sent to other local governments
0.1%$1.7 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$1.7 million
Schools and colleges
<0.1%$7 thousand
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$7 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Salt Lake County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of Salt Lake 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.