Budget Explorer · Columbus Consolidated Government

Where the money comes from, and where it goes

Comparable revenue, spending, and debt for Columbus Consolidated Government, on the same Census classification used for every city, county, and state in the Library — so the figures line up with peers rather than with the government's own budget book. Latest year: FY ending Jun 30, 2024.

Audited actuals · Census classification · 203K residents

Total revenue

$612M

$3,021 per resident

Total spending

$513M

$2,532 per resident

Spending per resident

$2,532

23rd percentile of 71

Debt outstanding

$445M

$2,196 per resident · 21st percentile of 70

Own-source share

64%

13th percentile of 71

Capital share

21%

61st percentile of 71

Where the money comes from

$612M total

Own-source revenue (taxes, charges, interest) versus aid from other governments. Utility and trust revenue are shown alongside general revenue but run on their own books.

  • Property tax$106M17%
  • General sales tax$251K0%
  • Selective sales taxes$50M8%
  • License & other taxes$28M5%
  • Federal aid$31M5%
  • State & local aid$177M29%
  • Charges & fees$111M18%
  • Interest, fines, other$70M11%
  • Utility revenue$39M6%

Own-source share of general revenue 64% · federal aid 5% · property tax is 58% of taxes

Where it goes

$513M total

Current operations plus capital outlay, grouped by Census function. Interest on debt and transfers to other governments are broken out so they are not hidden inside services.

  • General government$187M36%
  • Public safety$147M29%
  • Environment & housing$58M11%
  • Transportation$54M11%
  • Utilities (water, power, gas)$18M3%
  • Culture & recreation$17M3%
  • Interest on debt$16M3%
  • Transfers to other governments$9.1M2%
  • Health & hospitals$7.4M1%
  • Public welfare$863K0%
Show top functions with operating vs. capital ▸
FunctionCategoryOperatingCapitalTotal
General public buildingsGeneral government$16M$53M$69M
Police protectionPublic safety$63M$5.2M$68M
General (unallocable)General government$64M$3.4M$67M
HighwaysTransportation$28M$18M$46M
Fire protectionPublic safety$36M$5.0M$41M
Corrections (institutions)Public safety$36M$238K$36M
Solid waste managementEnvironment & housing$24M$9.9M$34M
Judicial & legalGeneral government$24M$12K$24M
SewerageEnvironment & housing$17M$852K$18M
Water utilityUtilities (water, power, gas)$16M$1.2M$18M
Financial administrationGeneral government$15M$1.8M$17M
Parks & recreationCulture & recreation$16M$943K$17M
Central staff servicesGeneral government$7.0M$2.7M$9.8M
Air transportationTransportation$7.0M$1.1M$8.1M

Trend · 3 fiscal years

Nominal dollars. The Census Bureau cautions that single-government series are edited only for aggregates — read direction, not decimals.

Revenue

+25% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$490M$612M

Spending

+16% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$441M$513M

Debt outstanding

+1% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$442M$445M

How it compares · 71 cities and counties in the Library

Percentile within the cohort on each place's latest Census year. Higher is not better — the last column says what a high reading means so you can decide whether it matters here.

MeasureColumbus Consolidated GovernmentCohort medianPercentileHigher means
Spending per resident$2,532$3,741
23rd
more spent per resident
Revenue per resident$3,021$3,548
32nd
more raised per resident
Taxes per resident$911$1,328
19th
heavier own-tax load
Debt per resident$2,196$3,865
21st
more borrowed per resident
Own-source share of revenue64%81%
13th
less dependent on aid
Federal aid share of revenue5%7%
37th
more exposed to federal cuts
Capital share of spending21%18%
61st
more building, less operating
Interest share of spending3%4%
39th
more spend servicing debt
Debt ÷ annual revenue0.73×1.05×
29th
more leveraged
  • Census classification categories, not this government's own budget structure. Figures are audited actuals for the fiscal year shown, not the adopted budget.
  • The Census Bureau edits unit-level data only to produce state and national aggregates and advises against reading it as a precise time series for any single government; treat year-over-year moves under ~5% as noise.
  • Employee-retirement-system revenue is excluded (published separately by Census). Utility and insurance-trust revenue are shown separately from general revenue.
  • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (Individual Unit public-use files), unit 132215161944 (Columbus Consolidated Government). Retrieved 2026-09-07. Classification manual.

Spot an error, or know a better source for this place's adopted budget? Suggest an edit on the assessment.

Looking for how this fits Columbus Consolidated Government's capacity to deliver? The fiscal dimension, binding constraint, and pathways live in the Columbus Consolidated Government capacity assessment.

The Civic Infrastructure Diagnostic Framework’s structural elements — the four cluster labels, the six capacity dimensions, and the binding-constraint framing — are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Anyone may use or adapt them with attribution. Tool implementation and full article text © 2026 JTV Advisory LLC.