County government · Benton County, WA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Benton County took in $170 million and spent $161 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

County taxes53%State tax money20%Fees for services (parks, land and natural resources, road charges)14%Federal tax money5.8%Fines and other5.5%Local tax money1.9%

What stands out

29%

of Benton County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 4.2%.

County taxes53%

Sales tax
29%$49.1 million
Property tax
20%$34.8 million
Other taxes
3.1%$5.3 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; motor vehicle licenses and 4 more
  • Other licenses$2.4 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$1.7 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$760 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$416 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$5 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$2 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services14%

Fees for services
14%$24.0 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks, land and natural resources and 1 more
  • Other service charges$23.6 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$355 thousand
  • Road charges$38 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money5.8%

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

From the federal government
5.8%$9.8 million

State tax money20%

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

From the state
20%$34.0 million

Local tax money1.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.9%$3.3 million

Fines and other5.5%

Interest, rents and other
4.5%$7.6 million
Fines
1.0%$1.6 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails48%Health and hospitals15%Running the government and other costs15%Roads, transit and parking8.9%Social services7.8%All other spending5.2%

What stands out

48%

of Benton County's spending goes to police, fire, courts and jails.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 25%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
48%$76.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPrisons and jails; courts and legal services and 2 more
  • Prisons and jails$32.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$21.7 million
  • Police$21.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.1 million
Health and hospitals
15%$24.2 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$24.2 million
Running the government and other costs
15%$24.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; other and not broken out and 2 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$8.4 million
  • Other and not broken out$7.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$5.6 million
  • Government buildings$2.6 million
Roads, transit and parking
8.9%$14.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$14.3 million
Social services
7.8%$12.5 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$12.5 million
Sent to other local governments
2.5%$4.0 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$4.0 million
Environment and natural resources
1.7%$2.8 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$2.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.9%$1.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$1.5 million
Interest on debt
<0.1%$130 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Benton County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of Benton 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.