These U.S. Cities Make More Money From Parking Tickets Than Anywhere Else

Photo: Mike Bitzenhofer (Getty Images)

It’s no secret that most cities rely on traffic tickets to generate revenue and cover gaps in the municipal budget. Fines account for 10 percent of the budget in 730 municipalities, according to the New York Times. However, some cities are worse than other.

To assess which cities made the most money from parking ticket revenue, TopView reviewed data from agencies across the country back in 2019. Yes, a lot has happened over the last five years but that will likely be the most recent representative year to compare cities. Many places waived parking infractions and offered ticket amnesties in 2020 due to pandemic shelter-in-place orders. Afterwards when cities realized that they need to close budget shortfalls, they rampantly increase traffic enforcement.

The following cities are ranked on a per-capita basis to judge each one fairly, but the gross totals are also included to put in perspective how much these governments are raking in: