Florida TaxWatch’s 2025 How Florida Counties Compare is a data-driven guide to local taxing and spending across Florida. Because counties, cities, school districts, and special districts collectively raise and spend more than state government, the levels of taxing and spending can vary dramatically from one community to the next—this report is built to help you see how your county stacks up against the other 66 counties.
With property taxes and local government spending drawing heightened attention—including discussion of significant tax relief proposals that could go before voters in November 2026 and ongoing state audits focused on spending trends—this edition provides timely context on the full local revenue picture, not just property taxes. The guide includes more than 60 tables, charts, and graphs detailing local tax rates, tax collections, other revenue sources, and city and county expenditures.
The report compares the revenue and expenditure profiles of Florida’s 67 counties using the most recently available data on property taxes, other taxes and fees, and county and municipal revenues and expenditures, with per-capita figures based on the population for each data year. Property tax data comes from the Florida Department of Revenue, and other tax and fee data is largely compiled by the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research; local revenues are categorized using the state’s LOGER framework, and expenditures are grouped by major functions (e.g., general government, public safety, transportation, human services, and more). This publication is intended as a reference tool for taxpayers, policymakers, and elected officials and does not attempt to evaluate service levels.