County government · Washington County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Washington County took in $111 million and spent $122 million.

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

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Where it comes from

County taxes49%State tax money26%Fees for services (parks and recreation, parks, land and natural resources)17%Local tax money3.3%Fines and other2.9%Federal tax money2.1%

What stands out

14%

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

County taxes49%

Property tax
34%$37.7 million
Sales tax
14%$15.3 million
Other taxes
1.1%$1.2 million
What's in other taxesReal estate and stock transfer taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$761 thousand
  • Other licenses$365 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$49 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services17%

Fees for services
17%$18.9 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; parks and recreation and 2 more
  • Other service charges$16.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$2.6 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$62 thousand
  • Garbage collection$5 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money2.1%

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

From the federal government
2.1%$2.3 million

State tax money26%

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

From the state
26%$29.1 million

Local tax money3.3%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From other local governments
3.3%$3.7 million

Fines and other2.9%

Interest, rents and other
2.5%$2.8 million
Fines
0.4%$479 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs24%Police, fire, courts and jails24%Social services24%Health and hospitals11%Roads, transit and parking10%All other spending7.4%

What stands out

24%

of Washington 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
24%$29.5 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$22.4 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.4 million
  • Government buildings$1.7 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
24%$29.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; prisons and jails and 2 more
  • Police$15.8 million
  • Prisons and jails$8.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$5.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$292 thousand
Social services
24%$28.6 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare and welfare institutions
  • Other public welfare$15.5 million
  • Welfare institutions$13.1 million
Health and hospitals
11%$12.8 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$12.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
10%$12.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$8.6 million
  • Public transit$3.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
7.4%$9.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$7.3 million
  • Libraries$1.6 million
Interest on debt
<0.1%$1 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Washington 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 Washington 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.