County government · Vilas County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Vilas County took in $31.2 million and spent $30.0 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes70%State tax money22%Fees for services (parks, land and natural resources, parks and recreation)5.0%Fines and other1.9%Federal tax money0.3%Local tax money0.2%

What stands out

12%

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

County taxes70%

Property tax
56%$17.4 million
Sales tax
12%$3.7 million
Other taxes
2.8%$882 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$547 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$318 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$17 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services5.0%

Fees for services
5.0%$1.6 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks, land and natural resources and 1 more
  • Other service charges$1.1 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$394 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$81 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.3%

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

From the federal government
0.3%$79 thousand

State tax money22%

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

From the state
22%$6.9 million

Local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
0.2%$75 thousand

Fines and other1.9%

Interest, rents and other
1.7%$534 thousand
Fines
0.2%$55 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails31%Running the government and other costs29%Social services16%Roads, transit and parking13%Parks, recreation and libraries5.6%All other spending5.8%

What stands out

16%

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

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
31%$9.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 1 more
  • Police$5.9 million
  • Prisons and jails$2.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$1.2 million
Running the government and other costs
29%$8.7 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$5.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.7 million
  • Government buildings$753 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$585 thousand
Social services
16%$4.8 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$4.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
13%$3.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$3.9 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.6%$1.7 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$1.6 million
  • Libraries$116 thousand
Health and hospitals
3.7%$1.1 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.1 million
Interest on debt
2.1%$620 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$3 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$3 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Vilas 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 Vilas 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.