Many local governments work together to provide the public structures on which we depend. The graph below shows how local governments spend on services, by type of government and in total. Figures are from 2007, the most recently published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Each of the four types of local governments provides a different mix of services.

• Counties are general-purpose governments that provide services in both the rural and urban areas in their boundaries. They spent $1.6  billion in 2007, about 13percent of all local government spending. Their spending is distributed as follows:
  • Transportation (mainly roads) and health (including hospitals and county health departments) each take just over a quarter of county spending;
  • Public safety, mainly sheriff patrols and county jails, is the third largest spending item for counties; and
  • Counties also provide library services (shown as education), rural area planning and code enforcement, and administrative services like providing space and security for courts, maintaining property and other legal records, and collecting property taxes for all local governments.
• Cities are general-purpose governments providing an even wider range of services within their boundaries. Cities spent approximately $4.5 billion in 2007, nearly 40 percent of all local spending. Their major services are:
  • Public safety (police, fire, and ambulance);
  • Environment and housing (sewerage, solid waste, parks, and building and code enforcement); and
  • Utilities (water, electric and public transit).
• School districts over $5 billion in 2007, more than any other local government. They naturally spend almost all local education dollars and use virtually their entire budgets for education. The small amount labeled "Other" is payment of debt on bonds to build schools and purchase equipment.
• Special districts spend less than all other types of governments, about $423 million in 2007. Nearly half of their spending is for public housing and renter subsidies for low-income housing. Water utilities are the only other large purpose of special district spending.

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