Key Finding: Health and Welfare spending declined by 10.32 percentage points as a share of the county operating budget from 2005 to 2025, while Public Safety spending increased by 4.14 percentage points.
What The Data Shows: From 2005 to 2025, Health and Welfare expenditures declined from 48.88% to 38.56% of the Allegheny County operating budget, a drop of 10.32 percentage points. In the same period, Public Safety expenditures rose from 10.36% to 14.50%, an increase of 4.14 percentage points.
Analysis: Budget shares reveal changes in relative public priorities. While Health and Welfare budget amounts increased steadily over the last twenty years, the share of the budget actually dropped by more than ten percent. A budget category can increase in dollars while still decline as a share of total spending, or increase modestly while other prevention-oriented categories lose ground.
Method: Percentages were calculated using each category’s budgeted amount divided by the official total operating budget amount for that fiscal year. Capital budgets, federal/state grants, and non-operating budget items are excluded.
Source: Allegheny County Controllers Office
Download the Data: https://alleghenycounty.opengov.com/