County government · Portage County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Portage County took in $95.3 million and spent $105 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes48%State tax money20%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks and recreation)19%Federal tax money6.0%Fines and other5.8%Local tax money1.1%

What stands out

19%

of Portage County's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people gets 11%.

County taxes48%

Property tax
37%$34.9 million
Sales tax
8.9%$8.5 million
Other taxes
2.4%$2.3 million
What's in other taxesMotor vehicle licenses; occupation and business licenses and 2 more
  • Motor vehicle licenses$1.6 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$307 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$228 thousand
  • Other licenses$195 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services19%

Fees for services
19%$18.2 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 3 more
  • Other service charges$14.8 million
  • Garbage collection$2.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$625 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$300 thousand
  • Road charges$23 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money6.0%

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

From the federal government
6.0%$5.7 million

State tax money20%

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

From the state
20%$19.1 million

Local tax money1.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
1.1%$1.0 million

Fines and other5.8%

Interest, rents and other
5.5%$5.2 million
Fines
0.3%$322 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs31%Police, fire, courts and jails19%Health and hospitals15%Social services15%Roads, transit and parking14%All other spending6.8%

What stands out

15%

of Portage County's spending goes to social services.A typical U.S. county of 50,000 to 250,000 people spends 1.5%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
31%$32.3 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$24.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.0 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.4 million
  • Government buildings$2.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
19%$19.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$10.7 million
  • Prisons and jails$5.2 million
  • Courts and legal services$3.7 million
Health and hospitals
15%$16.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$16.1 million
Social services
15%$15.4 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare and welfare institutions
  • Other public welfare$9.6 million
  • Welfare institutions$5.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
14%$14.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$14.5 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.5%$3.7 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$2.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.7 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
2.7%$2.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste
  • Garbage and solid waste$2.8 million
Schools and colleges
0.3%$333 thousand
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$333 thousand
Interest on debt
0.2%$230 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Portage 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 Portage 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.