County government · Jefferson County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Jefferson County took in $81.8 million and spent $68.1 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes47%State tax money27%Fees for services (parks and recreation, garbage collection)13%Fines and other5.0%Local tax money4.7%Federal tax money3.0%

What stands out

10%

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

County taxes47%

Property tax
37%$30.0 million
Sales tax
9.7%$8.0 million
Other taxes
0.9%$706 thousand
What's in other taxesReal estate and stock transfer taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$356 thousand
  • Other licenses$257 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$93 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services13%

Fees for services
13%$11.0 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$10.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$689 thousand
  • Garbage collection$112 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$54 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.0%

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

From the federal government
3.0%$2.4 million

State tax money27%

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

From the state
27%$21.8 million

Local tax money4.7%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
4.7%$3.8 million

Fines and other5.0%

Interest, rents and other
4.3%$3.5 million
Fines
0.6%$528 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails31%Health and hospitals31%Running the government and other costs20%Social services11%Parks, recreation and libraries5.7%All other spending1.1%

What stands out

31%

of Jefferson County's spending goes to health services and hospitals.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 5.7%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
31%$21.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$11.3 million
  • Prisons and jails$5.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$4.1 million
Health and hospitals
31%$20.9 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$20.9 million
Running the government and other costs
20%$13.8 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$7.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.9 million
  • Government buildings$2.3 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.5 million
Social services
11%$7.7 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$7.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.7%$3.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$2.7 million
  • Libraries$1.2 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$618 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
0.2%$141 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$141 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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.