City government · Charlottesville City, VA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Charlottesville took in $407 million and spent $527 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes45%Fees for services (gas, sewer)22%State tax money18%County and local tax money6.2%Federal tax money6.0%Fines and other3.1%

What stands out

18%

of Charlottesville's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 7%.

City taxes45%

Property tax
30%$121 million
Other taxes
11%$45.3 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 5 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$27.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$10.1 million
  • Public utility taxes$4.9 million
  • Other licenses$1.6 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$618 thousand
  • Tobacco taxes$504 thousand
  • Motor vehicle licenses$35 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
3.7%$15.2 million

Fees for services22%

Fees for services
22%$89.7 million
What's in fees for servicesGas; sewer and 10 more
  • Gas$25.9 million
  • Sewer$20.8 million
  • Other service charges$17.6 million
  • Water$16.9 million
  • Housing$2.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.4 million
  • Garbage collection$1.2 million
  • Transit fares$935 thousand
  • Parking$780 thousand
  • School tuition and transportation$583 thousand
  • School lunches$209 thousand
  • Other school charges$53 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money6.0%

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

From the federal government
6.0%$24.5 million

State tax money18%

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

From the state
18%$73.9 million

County and local tax money6.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
6.2%$25.1 million

Fines and other3.1%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$12.5 million
Fines
<0.1%$306 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges22%Running the government and other costs17%Police, fire, courts and jails11%Roads, transit and parking11%Water, sewer, trash and utilities11%All other spending28%

What stands out

22%

of Charlottesville's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
22%$116 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$116 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$91.6 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$69.8 million
  • Government buildings$8.0 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$7.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$6.3 million
  • Other government-run businesses$5 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
11%$58.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$28.4 million
  • Fire protection$24.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.3 million
Roads, transit and parking
11%$58.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$31.1 million
  • Roads and highways$24.6 million
  • Parking$2.4 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
11%$57.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGas supply; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Gas supply$21.6 million
  • Sewer systems$18.4 million
  • Water supply$14.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$3.2 million
Housing and community development
7.2%$37.8 million
Social services
6.4%$33.7 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$33.7 million
Health and hospitals
5.9%$31.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$31.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.0%$26.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$23.6 million
  • Libraries$2.9 million
Sent to other local governments
1.8%$9.7 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$9.7 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$4.5 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on water supply debt and 1 more
  • Interest on general debt$4.0 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$554 thousand
  • Interest on gas supply debt$6 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.3%$1.6 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.6 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Charlottesville. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of City of Charlottesville 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.