City government · Roanoke City, VA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Roanoke took in $594 million and spent $728 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes42%State tax money33%Federal tax money11%Fees for services (parks and recreation, sewer)10%Fines and other3.3%County and local tax money0.5%

What stands out

33%

of Roanoke's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 6.4%.

City taxes42%

Property tax
27%$160 million
Other taxes
11%$63.1 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 7 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$27.3 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$17.6 million
  • Public utility taxes$8.6 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$3.2 million
  • Other licenses$2.5 million
  • Tobacco taxes$1.4 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$1.3 million
  • Amusement taxes$1.2 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$32 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
4.8%$28.4 million

Fees for services10%

Fees for services
10%$59.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 7 more
  • Other service charges$18.9 million
  • Parks and recreation$16.3 million
  • Sewer$8.2 million
  • Garbage collection$5.3 million
  • Housing$5.2 million
  • Parking$4.0 million
  • Transit fares$1.2 million
  • School lunches$429 thousand
  • School tuition and transportation$39 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money11%

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

From the federal government
11%$65.4 million

State tax money33%

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

From the state
33%$194 million

County and local tax money0.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.5%$3.2 million

Fines and other3.3%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$18.7 million
Fines
0.1%$815 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges40%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Running the government and other costs12%Social services8.2%Housing and community development7.5%All other spending19%

What stands out

40%

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

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
40%$289 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$289 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
14%$101 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 4 more
  • Police$33.1 million
  • Fire protection$32.8 million
  • Prisons and jails$25.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$7.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$2.5 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$123 thousand
Running the government and other costs
12%$84.7 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$61.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$9.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$8.3 million
  • Government buildings$5.4 million
Social services
8.2%$59.9 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$59.9 million
Housing and community development
7.5%$54.3 million
Roads, transit and parking
7.2%$52.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$29.5 million
  • Public transit$19.7 million
  • Parking$3.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.0%$36.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$31.6 million
  • Libraries$4.8 million
Health and hospitals
3.1%$22.7 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$22.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.7%$20.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$12.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$7.4 million
Interest on debt
0.8%$6.0 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on public transit debt
  • Interest on general debt$5.9 million
  • Interest on public transit debt$176 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$661 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$661 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$490 thousand
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$490 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Roanoke. 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 Roanoke 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.