Where the money comes from and where it goes.
State and county government finances from the state’s own reports. Different years and measures are kept apart.
Fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), audited actuals, all governmental funds (ACFR, governmental funds)
Total revenue $15.4B · total spending $17.1B (exact figures in the tables). Revenue and spending are separate measures; budgeted and audited years are separate records and are never compared as one.
| Income taxes | $3,099,106,000.00 |
| Sales and use taxes | $3,140,389,000.00 |
| Petroleum taxes | $444,788,000.00 |
| Excise taxes | $180,849,000.00 |
| Business and franchise taxes | $175,898,000.00 |
| Other taxes | $18,238,000.00 |
| Federal grants and contracts | $6,549,567,000.00 |
| Licenses, fees and permits | $507,457,000.00 |
| Charges for services | $119,636,000.00 |
| Investment income | $744,214,000.00 |
| Rental income | $89,572,000.00 |
| Surcharges | $67,588,000.00 |
| Other revenue | $231,999,000.00 |
| General government | $1,852,437,000.00 |
| Conservation of natural resources | $260,418,000.00 |
| Culture and recreation | $64,766,000.00 |
| Economic development and assistance | $547,272,000.00 |
| Education | $2,951,985,000.00 |
| Higher education (state colleges and university) | $801,163,000.00 |
| Health and social services | $7,792,687,000.00 |
| Public safety | $727,400,000.00 |
| Regulation of business and professions | $226,162,000.00 |
| Transportation | $1,778,963,000.00 |
| Capital projects | $85,894,000.00 |
| Debt service: bond principal | $6,400,000.00 |
| Debt service: bond interest | $257,000.00 |
| Debt service: lease principal | $2,580,000.00 |
| Debt service: lease interest | $521,000.00 |
| Debt service: software subscription principal | $6,436,000.00 |
| Debt service: software subscription interest | $429,000.00 |
Fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), enacted budget, General Fund (enacted budget)
Total revenue $6.8B · total spending $5.3B (exact figures in the tables). Revenue and spending are separate measures; budgeted and audited years are separate records and are never compared as one.
| Sales and use tax | $2,512,870,000.00 |
| Individual income tax | $3,077,192,000.00 |
| Corporate income tax | $711,048,000.00 |
| Miscellaneous receipts (other taxes, fees and transfers in) | $480,679,295.00 |
| Operations: University of Nebraska and state colleges | $772,025,639.00 |
| Operations: Health and Human Services | $358,525,250.00 |
| Operations: Correctional Services | $362,994,058.00 |
| Operations: courts | $238,420,533.00 |
| Operations: State Patrol | $88,804,399.00 |
| Operations: Retirement Board | $20,998,604.00 |
| Operations: Department of Revenue | $5,247,581.00 |
| Operations: other agencies | $248,952,285.00 |
| Aid: education scholarships | $0.00 |
| Aid: Medicaid | $843,532,322.00 |
| Aid: child welfare | $165,780,369.00 |
| Aid: developmental disabilities | $386,750,736.00 |
| Aid: public assistance | $75,017,628.00 |
| Aid: behavioral health | $60,182,211.00 |
| Aid: children's health insurance (SCHIP) | $29,989,393.00 |
| Aid: Business Innovation Act | $0.00 |
| Aid: aging programs | $11,722,579.00 |
| Aid: public health | $7,083,060.00 |
| Aid: Nebraska Career Scholarships | $20,580,000.00 |
| Aid: higher education student aid | $8,443,430.00 |
| Aid: health aid | $6,401,696.00 |
| Aid: all other aid to individuals and others | $22,740,319.00 |
| Aid to local governments: state aid to schools (TEEOSA) | $994,035,905.00 |
| Aid to local governments: special education | $235,724,424.00 |
| Aid to local governments: community colleges | $114,116,711.00 |
| Aid to local governments: homestead exemption reimbursement | $173,200,000.00 |
| Aid to local governments: educational service units | $13,349,488.00 |
| Aid to local governments: high ability learner programs | $2,342,962.00 |
| Aid to local governments: early childhood programs | $11,119,357.00 |
| Aid to local governments: community-based juvenile services | $5,613,000.00 |
| Aid to local governments: Governor's emergency program | $5,000,000.00 |
| Aid to local governments: other | $4,624,732.00 |
| Capital construction | $21,303,928.00 |
Fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), enacted budget, all fund types (appropriations only) (enacted budget)
Total revenue — · total spending $19.6B (exact figures in the tables). Revenue and spending are separate measures; budgeted and audited years are separate records and are never compared as one.
| Department of Health and Human Services | $8,338,002,655.00 |
| University of Nebraska | $2,872,541,750.00 |
| Department of Education | $2,204,816,792.00 |
| Department of Revenue | $1,541,722,391.00 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,459,710,306.00 |
| Department of Correctional Services | $400,102,002.00 |
| Community colleges (state aid) | $399,135,511.00 |
| Department of Administrative Services | $297,680,087.00 |
| Supreme Court (courts) | $263,993,686.00 |
| Department of Economic Development | $225,601,680.00 |
| Department of Water, Energy, and Environment | $219,573,049.00 |
| State colleges | $186,893,693.00 |
| Game and Parks Commission | $143,623,242.00 |
| State Patrol | $128,234,924.00 |
| Public Service Commission | $116,201,699.00 |
| Department of Veterans' Affairs | $111,091,313.00 |
| Capital construction | $94,258,858.00 |
| Department of Labor | $67,345,955.00 |
| State Treasurer | $52,672,322.00 |
| Department of Motor Vehicles | $48,197,284.00 |
| All other agencies | $477,610,091.00 |
County governments, fiscal year 2021-22 (Census of Governments; fiscal year ended June 30, 2022)
| Adams | — | — | — | 31,016 | — |
| Antelope | $10,655,000.00 | $8,268,000.00 | $7,062,000.00 | 6,300 | $1,312.38 |
| Arthur | $1,044,000.00 | $904,000.00 | $607,000.00 | 426 | $2,122.07 |
| Banner | $2,027,000.00 | $1,755,000.00 | $1,214,000.00 | 657 | $2,671.23 |
| Blaine | $1,323,000.00 | $1,081,000.00 | $818,000.00 | 448 | $2,412.95 |
| Boone | — | — | — | 5,370 | — |
| Box Butte | — | — | — | 10,665 | — |
| Boyd | $4,378,000.00 | $5,052,000.00 | $1,963,000.00 | 1,736 | $2,910.14 |
| Brown | — | — | — | 2,892 | — |
| Buffalo | $31,693,000.00 | $41,541,000.00 | $19,611,000.00 | 50,553 | $821.73 |
| Burt | — | — | — | 6,776 | — |
| Butler | $35,475,000.00 | $30,661,000.00 | $5,080,000.00 | 8,433 | $3,635.84 |
| Cass | — | — | — | 27,177 | — |
| Cedar | $13,062,000.00 | $8,120,000.00 | $10,005,000.00 | 8,351 | $972.34 |
| Chase | — | — | — | 3,770 | — |
| Cherry | — | — | — | 5,492 | — |
| Cheyenne | — | — | — | 9,504 | — |
| Clay | — | — | — | 6,050 | — |
| Colfax | — | — | — | 10,624 | — |
| Cuming | $10,899,000.00 | $13,810,000.00 | $3,267,000.00 | 8,972 | $1,539.23 |
| Custer | $9,018,000.00 | — | $6,391,000.00 | 10,507 | — |
| Dakota | — | — | — | 21,227 | — |
| Dawes | — | — | — | 8,251 | — |
| Dawson | — | — | — | 24,082 | — |
| Deuel | $5,728,000.00 | — | $5,728,000.00 | 1,895 | — |
| Dixon | — | — | — | 5,557 | — |
| Dodge | — | — | — | 37,198 | — |
| Douglas | — | — | — | 587,963 | — |
| Dundy | $15,777,000.00 | $24,654,000.00 | $1,744,000.00 | 1,605 | $15,360.75 |
| Fillmore | — | — | — | 5,529 | — |
| Franklin | — | — | — | 2,828 | — |
| Frontier | — | — | — | 2,632 | — |
| Furnas | — | — | — | 4,571 | — |
| Gage | — | — | — | 21,559 | — |
| Garden | $5,483,000.00 | $9,675,000.00 | $3,553,000.00 | 1,839 | $5,261.01 |
| Garfield | — | — | — | 1,783 | — |
| Gosper | $10,855,000.00 | — | $10,067,000.00 | 1,833 | — |
| Grant | $2,126,000.00 | $1,200,000.00 | $986,000.00 | 588 | $2,040.82 |
| Greeley | — | — | — | 2,240 | — |
| Hall | $6,739,000.00 | $34,563,000.00 | — | 62,555 | $552.52 |
| Hamilton | — | — | — | 9,446 | — |
| Harlan | — | $21,666,000.00 | — | 3,024 | $7,164.68 |
| Hayes | $2,469,000.00 | $2,580,000.00 | $1,040,000.00 | 857 | $3,010.50 |
| Hitchcock | $1,935,000.00 | $899,000.00 | $1,935,000.00 | 2,615 | $343.79 |
| Holt | — | — | — | 10,038 | — |
| Hooker | — | — | — | 678 | — |
| Howard | $29,034,000.00 | $26,064,000.00 | $2,498,000.00 | 6,526 | $3,993.87 |
| Jefferson | — | — | — | 7,162 | — |
| Johnson | $68,500,000.00 | $27,770,000.00 | $2,447,000.00 | 5,261 | $5,278.46 |
| Kearney | $28,300,000.00 | $5,292,000.00 | $25,399,000.00 | 6,687 | $791.39 |
| Keith | $10,163,000.00 | $6,964,000.00 | $4,578,000.00 | 8,202 | $849.06 |
| Keya Paha | $2,660,000.00 | $2,189,000.00 | $689,000.00 | 800 | $2,736.25 |
| Kimball | — | — | — | 3,342 | — |
| Knox | — | — | — | 8,325 | — |
| Lancaster | $212,030,000.00 | $161,651,000.00 | $79,275,000.00 | 325,122 | $497.20 |
| Lincoln | — | — | — | 33,629 | — |
| Logan | $2,050,000.00 | $1,778,000.00 | $1,232,000.00 | 686 | $2,591.84 |
| Loup | $1,498,000.00 | $1,231,000.00 | $654,000.00 | 599 | $2,055.09 |
| Madison | $27,991,000.00 | $21,843,000.00 | $9,147,000.00 | 35,486 | $615.54 |
| McPherson | $1,474,000.00 | $1,232,000.00 | $830,000.00 | 373 | $3,302.95 |
| Merrick | — | — | — | 7,700 | — |
| Morrill | $27,523,000.00 | $26,895,000.00 | $3,584,000.00 | 4,520 | $5,950.22 |
| Nance | $4,851,000.00 | $3,656,000.00 | $2,417,000.00 | 3,318 | $1,101.87 |
| Nemaha | $26,119,000.00 | $14,784,000.00 | $3,696,000.00 | 7,024 | $2,104.78 |
| Nuckolls | — | — | — | 4,076 | — |
| Otoe | — | — | — | 16,235 | — |
| Pawnee | — | — | $2,025,000.00 | 2,527 | — |
| Perkins | $3,628,000.00 | — | $3,293,000.00 | 2,838 | — |
| Phelps | — | — | — | 9,006 | — |
| Pierce | $6,791,000.00 | $7,244,000.00 | $3,987,000.00 | 7,314 | $990.43 |
| Platte | — | — | — | 34,591 | — |
| Polk | — | — | — | 5,229 | — |
| Red Willow | $10,236,000.00 | $13,755,000.00 | $4,458,000.00 | 10,546 | $1,304.29 |
| Richardson | $450,000.00 | $4,832,000.00 | — | 7,738 | $624.45 |
| Rock | — | — | $2,733,000.00 | 1,237 | — |
| Saline | — | — | — | 14,693 | — |
| Sarpy | — | — | — | 196,569 | — |
| Saunders | — | — | — | 23,152 | — |
| Scotts Bluff | — | — | $12,077,000.00 | 35,785 | — |
| Seward | — | — | — | 17,628 | — |
| Sheridan | $18,063,000.00 | — | $15,575,000.00 | 5,003 | — |
| Sherman | $14,565,000.00 | — | $11,622,000.00 | 3,006 | — |
| Sioux | $1,755,000.00 | $1,671,000.00 | $1,425,000.00 | 1,166 | $1,433.10 |
| Stanton | — | — | — | 5,753 | — |
| Thayer | $38,395,000.00 | $33,796,000.00 | $2,422,000.00 | 4,864 | $6,948.19 |
| Thomas | $1,591,000.00 | $1,115,000.00 | $789,000.00 | 665 | $1,676.69 |
| Thurston | — | — | — | 6,486 | — |
| Valley | — | — | — | 4,063 | — |
| Washington | — | — | — | 21,182 | — |
| Wayne | $12,138,000.00 | $8,930,000.00 | $4,776,000.00 | 9,940 | $898.39 |
| Webster | — | — | — | 3,338 | — |
| Wheeler | $2,774,000.00 | $2,446,000.00 | $1,554,000.00 | 783 | $3,123.88 |
| York | $10,764,000.00 | $10,387,000.00 | $7,873,000.00 | 14,308 | $725.96 |
Revenue, spending and property tax come from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: Finance individual unit file, the latest year that canvasses every government; they are actual results for fiscal year 2021-22 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022). Each row is the county government only; cities, villages, school districts, townships and other districts in the county are separate governments and are not included. revenue_total = all revenue Census records for the government (taxes, charges, state and federal aid, interest and other general revenue, utility and insurance-trust revenue); it excludes borrowing and transfers between the county's own funds. spending_total = all expenditure (current operations, capital outlay, interest, assistance and payments to other governments); it excludes repayment of debt principal. property_tax = property tax revenue (Census code T01), the county government's own levy; it is part of revenue_total, not an addition. A figure is left empty when more than 10% of its dollars are Census estimates (imputations); Census's estimate is kept, labeled, under census_imputed. Many Nebraska counties' 2022 figures are empty for that reason. Revenue, spending and property tax are separate measures and are never added together. Population is the Census Bureau's July 1, 2022 estimate (Vintage 2025); population_2025 is the July 1, 2025 estimate from the same release. Each county also has a separate budget_2025_26 block from a state compilation, the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts' budget database: the county's adopted budget for fiscal year 2025-26 as filed under the Nebraska Budget Act. It is an adopted budget, not actuals: disbursements_and_transfers is the spending authority in the adopted budget across all funds and includes transfers between the county's own funds (so money moved between funds and then spent is counted twice); property_tax_request is the property tax the county budgeted to raise; total_resources_available is cash carried in plus all budgeted receipts, including transfers in, and is not revenue. The budget block is a different year and a different measure and is never mixed with or compared to the 2022 actuals on the page. Spending per resident is our division of the county’s reported spending by its population.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Finance, individual unit file (Nebraska county governments; thousands of dollars); U.S. Census Bureau, county population estimates, Vintage 2025 (co-est2025-alldata); Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, Budget Database, Basic Budget Query: subdivision type Counties, year 2025-2026, exported as CSV (adopted budgets filed under the Nebraska Budget Act); Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, Budget Information page (budgets due Sept. 30; describes the Basic Budget Query fields); Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, Budget Form Instruction Manual, 2026-2027 (defines Total Resources Available and Total Disbursements & Transfers); Adams County, 2025-2026 County Budget Form as filed with the Auditor of Public Accounts (sample used to check the database fields).
What is not here yet
- The FY2026 ACFR (year ended June 30, 2026) is not yet published: the State Accounting Financial Reports page lists the 2025 ACFR as the newest (checked Oct. 22, 2026). FY2025 is the latest audited year.
- The FY2027 General Fund revenue is the February 2026 forecast adjusted for 2026 legislation. The Legislative Fiscal Office's July 2026 General Fund status (checked) still uses the same FY2026-27 receipts and appropriations; not yet checked: any later forecast by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board (the report shows it revised forecasts in October 2024 and October 2025) and any later legislative action.
- The budget report's link on the Legislature's page is named '2026 Final - Corrected with Table of Contents' and marked with an asterisk the page does not explain; what was corrected was not checked.
- The budget report's all-funds page says 'Total appropriations for all funds types for FY2026-27 is $19,939,620,677 and for FY2026-27 is $19,649,009,290'; the first figure is FY2025-26 in its own tables. This file uses the FY2026-27 tables.
- In Table 18, two aid-to-local-government rows do not add across: for Community Based Juvenile Services the adjusted FY2026-27 figure ($5,613,000) is $564,300 more than the enacted figure plus the 2026 change ($5,798,000 - $749,300), and for Other Aid to Local Govt the adjusted figure ($4,624,732) is $564,300 less than enacted plus change ($5,486,394 - $297,362); the FY2025-26 columns show the same $564,300 shift. The subtotal is the same either way. It looks like an amount reclassified between the two rows; not yet checked with the Fiscal Office. The adjusted figures are used as printed.
- The FY 2026 budget (the first year of the biennium) belongs to fiscal year 2026 and is not shown.
- Appropriation bills themselves (LB 260 to LB 264 of 2025, LB 1071 and LB 1072 of 2026) were not read line by line; the Legislative Fiscal Office's report of them is used.
- None of the reports' narrative is reproduced; descriptions are our own.
- Census 2022: no record for the county government in the individual unit file: Hooker; its row is empty, not zero. Not yet checked with Census.
- Census 2022 figures left empty because Census estimated more than 10% of the dollars: Adams, Boone, Box Butte, Brown, Burt, Cass, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garfield, Greeley, Hamilton, Harlan, Holt, Jefferson, Kimball, Knox, Lincoln, Merrick, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Platte, Polk, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Stanton, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Webster (Census's estimates are kept under census_imputed). Shown per measure: {'revenue_total': 43, 'spending_total': 38, 'property_tax': 44}.
- Census 2022 rows that look unusual and were not checked against the county's audit (each with a check_note): Deuel (only 1 items in the Census record); Gosper (only 4 items in the Census record); Hall (revenue 6,739,000 dollars against spending 34,563,000 dollars); Hitchcock (only 5 items in the Census record); Kearney (revenue 28,300,000 dollars against spending 5,292,000 dollars); Perkins (only 6 items in the Census record); Richardson (revenue 450,000 dollars against spending 4,832,000 dollars); Sheridan (only 7 items in the Census record); Sherman (only 8 items in the Census record).
- Enterprise charges inside the Census 2022 revenue_total (Census codes A36 hospitals and A01 air transportation; the matching costs are in spending_total): Boone: hospital charges (A36) $36,962,000.00; Box Butte: hospital charges (A36) $49,949,000.00; Brown: hospital charges (A36) $11,448,000.00; Butler: hospital charges (A36) $15,893,000.00; Chase: hospital charges (A36) $15,186,000.00; Cherry: hospital charges (A36) $26,819,000.00; Douglas: hospital charges (A36) $38,099,000.00; Dundy: hospital charges (A36) $11,044,000.00; Fillmore: hospital charges (A36) $45,127,000.00; Franklin: hospital charges (A36) $7,006,000.00; Harlan: hospital charges (A36) $12,241,000.00; Howard: hospital charges (A36) $19,982,000.00; Johnson: hospital charges (A36) $23,091,000.00; Lancaster: hospital charges (A36) $1,060,000.00; Merrick: hospital charges (A36) $5,248,000.00; Morrill: hospital charges (A36) $23,452,000.00; Nemaha: hospital charges (A36) $16,282,000.00; Pawnee: hospital charges (A36) $5,285,000.00; Polk: hospital charges (A36) $15,350,000.00; Rock: hospital charges (A36) $13,459,000.00; Saunders: hospital charges (A36) $41,800,000.00; Sherman: air transportation charges (A01) $10,000.00; Thayer: hospital charges (A36) $28,763,000.00; Valley: hospital charges (A36) $60,324,000.00; Webster: hospital charges (A36) $4,949,000.00. Counties that run a hospital or an airport are therefore not comparable with those that do not.
- Census figures follow Census's own classification and do not match a county's audited statements or adopted budget line for line. The Census 2024 Annual Survey (a sample) was not used.
- The 2025-26 budget block is adopted budgets, not actual results. Each county's budget form also prints actual disbursements and receipts for the two prior years (2023-24 and 2024-25), but the database does not carry them and the 93 forms (PDFs of up to several MB each; Adams County's is 159 pages) were not read; not yet checked.
- The 2026-27 county budgets (due to the Auditor by Sept. 30, 2026) were not yet in the budget database on Oct. 22, 2026, whose newest year is 2025-2026; not yet checked county by county. Budget amendments adopted during 2025-26 are not reflected unless the county refiled.
- The budget database field 'Unused Budget Authority' is not used: on the Adams County form its value matches the prior years' unused property tax request authority used this year (line 24 of the Property Tax Request Authority form), not unspent budget; its meaning was not confirmed with the Auditor.
- Audited county figures were not used. The Auditor of Public Accounts audits Nebraska counties and posts each report separately; the reports were not collected or read; not yet checked.
- The Department of Revenue, Property Assessment Division's statements of taxes levied by county and subdivision were not used; the budget block's property tax is each county's budgeted request, not the tax actually levied or collected. Not yet checked.
- Counties whose budget record has no link to a filed PDF: none.
- No statewide source: no Nebraska state agency was found that publishes elected county officials' pay for all 93 counties in one place. The Auditor of Public Accounts' County Information page and budget database carry no salary table (checked Oct. 22, 2026).
- Each county's budget form filed with the Auditor includes 'Official's Salary' lines in the budgets of county offices (seen in Adams County's 2025-26 form), but these are budgeted amounts in 93 separate PDFs that do not name the officeholder, and they were not collected; not yet checked, county by county.
- Each county board's salary resolution (adopted before Jan. 15 of the election year under Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1114) was not collected; not yet checked.
- The State Treasurer's spending site, nebraskaspending.gov, did not answer (the connection was reset on Oct. 22, 2026) and could not be read; whether it carries any county pay is not yet checked.
- The Nebraska Association of County Officials' salary survey is not a state source and was not used.
Gaps in the public money records as of the date checked.