City government · King County, WA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Seattle took in $6.07 billion and spent $5.70 billion.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, sewer)44%City taxes41%Fines and other7.8%State tax money4.3%Federal tax money3.1%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

19%

of Seattle's money comes from taxes other than property, sales and income taxes.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 7.2%.

City taxes41%

Other taxes
19%$1.18 billion
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other taxes not classified elsewhere and 6 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$450 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$347 million
  • Other licenses$152 million
  • Motor vehicle licenses$61.5 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$56.0 million
  • Public utility taxes$54.1 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$31.6 million
  • Amusement taxes$25.6 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
15%$906 million
Sales tax
6.6%$400 million

Fees for services44%

Fees for services
44%$2.65 billion
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; sewer and 7 more
  • Electric power$1.16 billion
  • Sewer$543 million
  • Water$301 million
  • Garbage collection$268 million
  • Road charges$140 million
  • Other service charges$122 million
  • Parks and recreation$49.8 million
  • Parking$42.2 million
  • Housing$23.2 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.1%

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

From the federal government
3.1%$185 million

State tax money4.3%

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

From the state
4.3%$262 million

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$14.5 million

Fines and other7.8%

Interest, rents and other
7.0%$425 million
Fines
0.7%$45.5 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities35%Police, fire, courts and jails16%Running the government and other costs11%Parks, recreation and libraries10%Roads, transit and parking9.8%All other spending19%

What stands out

35%

of Seattle's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 20%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
35%$1.97 billion
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$1.24 billion
  • Sewer systems$327 million
  • Water supply$227 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$182 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
16%$887 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$367 million
  • Fire protection$306 million
  • Inspections and regulation$111 million
  • Courts and legal services$102 million
Running the government and other costs
11%$607 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$468 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$122 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$17.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
10%$583 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$480 million
  • Libraries$103 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.8%$556 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$540 million
  • Parking$16.0 million
Housing and community development
4.6%$264 million
Interest on debt
4.2%$238 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt; interest on general debt and 1 more
  • Interest on electric power debt$119 million
  • Interest on general debt$87.7 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$30.8 million
Sent to other local governments
3.9%$220 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$220 million
Social services
3.6%$205 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$205 million
Schools and colleges
2.2%$128 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$128 million
Health and hospitals
0.4%$22.9 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$22.9 million
Environment and natural resources
0.3%$17.3 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$17.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Seattle. 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 City of Seattle 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.