County government · Polk County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Polk County took in $61.0 million and spent $54.7 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes47%State tax money33%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks, land and natural resources)16%Fines and other1.9%Local tax money1.6%Federal tax money1.1%

What stands out

7.6%

of Polk County's money comes from sales tax.A typical U.S. county of under 50,000 people gets 1.6%.

County taxes47%

Property tax
38%$22.9 million
Sales tax
7.6%$4.7 million
Other taxes
1.7%$1.1 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; other taxes not classified elsewhere and 2 more
  • Other licenses$537 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$254 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$243 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$27 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services16%

Fees for services
16%$9.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 3 more
  • Other service charges$9.1 million
  • Garbage collection$366 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$104 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$20 thousand
  • Road charges$3 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.1%

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

From the federal government
1.1%$678 thousand

State tax money33%

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

From the state
33%$20.0 million

Local tax money1.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.6%$952 thousand

Fines and other1.9%

Interest, rents and other
1.6%$1.0 million
Fines
0.2%$129 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs27%Police, fire, courts and jails22%Health and hospitals20%Social services16%Roads, transit and parking10%All other spending5.3%

What stands out

16%

of Polk County's spending goes to social services.Most U.S. counties of under 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
27%$14.7 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$9.4 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.2 million
  • Government buildings$1.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$722 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
22%$12.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$6.8 million
  • Prisons and jails$3.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$2.3 million
Health and hospitals
20%$10.7 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$10.7 million
Social services
16%$8.5 million
What's in social servicesWelfare institutions and other public welfare
  • Welfare institutions$6.3 million
  • Other public welfare$2.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
10%$5.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$5.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.6%$1.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$991 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$959 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.2%$673 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$673 thousand
Interest on debt
0.5%$254 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$17 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$17 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Polk 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 Polk 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.