County government · King County, WA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), King County took in $5.53 billion and spent $5.26 billion.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

County taxes47%Fees for services (sewer, transit fares)27%State tax money12%Local tax money4.9%Fines and other4.5%Federal tax money4.5%

What stands out

20%

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

County taxes47%

Property tax
23%$1.25 billion
Sales tax
20%$1.11 billion
Other taxes
4.5%$249 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; public utility taxes and 7 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$165 million
  • Public utility taxes$30.0 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$19.3 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$15.3 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$11.0 million
  • Other licenses$5.6 million
  • Public utility licenses$1.2 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$968 thousand
  • Severance taxes$815 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services27%

Fees for services
27%$1.49 billion
What's in fees for servicesSewer; transit fares and 8 more
  • Sewer$641 million
  • Transit fares$308 million
  • Other service charges$294 million
  • Garbage collection$172 million
  • Airport$39.7 million
  • Parks and recreation$16.7 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$12.2 million
  • Road charges$7.2 million
  • Housing$1.4 million
  • Other government-run businesses$1.1 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money4.5%

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

From the federal government
4.5%$248 million

State tax money12%

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

From the state
12%$665 million

Local tax money4.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
4.9%$272 million

Fines and other4.5%

Interest, rents and other
4.4%$242 million
Fines
0.1%$7.3 million

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking26%Health and hospitals18%Police, fire, courts and jails15%Water, sewer, trash and utilities15%Running the government and other costs12%All other spending14%

What stands out

26%

of King 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%$1.35 billion
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 1 more
  • Public transit$1.18 billion
  • Roads and highways$114 million
  • Airports$48.1 million
Health and hospitals
18%$971 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$971 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
15%$795 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsCourts and legal services; police and 3 more
  • Courts and legal services$299 million
  • Police$249 million
  • Prisons and jails$222 million
  • Inspections and regulation$17.6 million
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$7.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
15%$777 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$618 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$158 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$640 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$498 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$61.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$52.4 million
  • Government buildings$24.5 million
  • Other government-run businesses$3.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.8%$201 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$201 million
Housing and community development
3.3%$175 million
Interest on debt
2.9%$153 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on public transit debt
  • Interest on general debt$150 million
  • Interest on public transit debt$2.9 million
Environment and natural resources
2.5%$131 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$131 million
Social services
1.3%$66.9 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$66.9 million
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$1.1 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$1.1 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

King 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 King 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.