County government · Columbia County, WA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Columbia County took in $16.0 million and spent $13.7 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2021Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

State tax money45%County taxes35%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks and recreation)9.8%Federal tax money8.1%Fines and other1.9%Local tax money0.2%

What stands out

45%

of Columbia County's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 23%.

County taxes35%

Property tax
25%$3.9 million
Sales tax
8.4%$1.4 million
Other taxes
2.0%$314 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 5 more
  • Other licenses$105 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$83 thousand
  • Motor vehicle licenses$45 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$39 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$19 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$15 thousand
  • Public utility licenses$8 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services9.8%

Fees for services
9.8%$1.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 3 more
  • Other service charges$1.2 million
  • Garbage collection$199 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$82 thousand
  • Road charges$41 thousand
  • Transit fares$7 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money8.1%

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

From the federal government
8.1%$1.3 million

State tax money45%

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

From the state
45%$7.2 million

Local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.2%$38 thousand

Fines and other1.9%

Interest, rents and other
1.4%$228 thousand
Fines
0.5%$84 thousand

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking39%Running the government and other costs25%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Environment and natural resources7.5%Health and hospitals7.2%All other spending5.0%

What stands out

39%

of Columbia County's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
39%$5.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$3.9 million
  • Public transit$1.4 million
  • Parking$2 thousand
Running the government and other costs
25%$3.4 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$1.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$975 thousand
  • Government buildings$201 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$2.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 1 more
  • Police$1.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$891 thousand
  • Prisons and jails$144 thousand
Environment and natural resources
7.5%$1.0 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$1.0 million
Health and hospitals
7.2%$981 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$981 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.9%$260 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$260 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.6%$225 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$208 thousand
  • Libraries$17 thousand
Interest on debt
1.2%$161 thousand
Social services
0.2%$25 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$25 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$8 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$5 thousand
  • Sent to the state government$3 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Columbia County. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of Columbia 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.