Local Government Finances

This database contains financial data reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.  Data are reported for large public agencies every year and every five years (years ending in '2' and '7') for small agencies. A sample of state and local governments is used to collect data in the intervening years, and a new sample is selected every five years (years ending in '4' and '9').

Users of these data are urged to exercise caution since these data are derived from surveys and not from direct reporting. In particular, users should use data obtained directly from these state, county, city/township, special district, and educational establishments when they are available. Data in many years are reported as zero and are not available for all possible combinations of categories, government types, and items.  For detailed category definitions, see U.S. Bureau of the Census. 

Finally, reported totals reflect the arithmetic sum of categories and consider NA values as 0.  As a result, total values may vary from year to year.