Where Your Tax Dollar Goes
A cent-by-cent breakdown of Pittsburgh's operating budget
If you're a Pittsburgh resident, you contribute to a $768.7M operating budget through taxes, fees, and other revenue. That's about $2,537 per person. But where does that money actually go?
For every dollar the city spends...
The chart above breaks down each dollar of city spending by department. The single largest recipient is the Department of Finance, which handles citywide expenses like debt service, pension contributions, and insurance — costs that aren't tied to any one department.
Public Safety: 34¢ of every dollar
Combine Police (15¢), Fire (14¢), and EMS (5¢) and public safety accounts for 34 cents of every dollar — the largest functional category by far. The Bureau of Police alone has 844 budgeted positions, making it the city's biggest employer.
Fun fact: For every dollar Pittsburgh spends on police, it spends about 6 cents on Parks and Recreation.
Where the revenue comes from
The money to fund all this comes primarily from taxes — 80% of total revenue. Earned income tax, property tax, and business taxes are the three pillars. The rest comes from state and federal intergovernmental transfers ($52.9M), fees for services ($50.7M), and smaller sources like permits, fines, and interest.
For the full revenue breakdown and department-by-department detail, visit the Budget Dashboard or browse individual department summaries.