Yahoo Autos These U.S. Cities Make More Money From Parking Tickets Than Anywhere Else
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:
15. San Jose, CA - $11.01 Per Capita
Our list opens in the San Francisco Bay area. San Jose made $11.4 million through parking tickets in 2019, an amount that doesn’t include the fees that weren’t collected. In 2020, the city waived late free in the hopes of collected up to $25 million in unpaid parking tickets, according to San Jose Spotlight.
14. Detroit, MI - $19.02 Per Capita
The Motor City is next on the list, generating $12.8 million in parking ticket revenue in 2019. ParkDetroit, the city’s parking vendor, offered residents a half-off discount on a single parking ticket in December last year, according to the Detroit Free Press.
13. Madison, WI - $20.38 Per Capita
Wisconsin’s state capital sits in the unlucky number 13 spot, generating $5.2 million in ticket revenue in 2019. A state audit discovered that Madison is owed $11.75 million through unpaid violations of all kinds from 2019 until mid-2013, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
12. San Diego, CA - $22.61 Per Capita
The southernmost city in California brought in $32.1 million through parking tickets. However, there are certain spot of San Diego that have become infamous for being unmarked ticket traps, like Siempre Viva Drive near the border with Mexico and Tijuana International Airport.
11. Milwaukee, WI - $25.10 Per Capita
Wisconsin’s largest city made $14.9 million through parking tickets. Parking violations seem like a minor issue compared to what else is happening in Milwaukee. The city’s Department of Public Works wrote 56,352 tickets last year for drivers operating a vehicle with no license plate or an improperly displayed plate, according to WISN.
10. Seattle, WA - $28.66 Per Capita
Seattle opens the top ten after generating $20.7 million in parking ticket revenue in 2019. When it comes to other traffic violations, the city has done it’s best to let ticket go unpaid. In 2023, nearly 100,000 automatic traffic tickets expired after the violations weren’t reviewed by the Seattle Police Department due to staffing shortages, according to KIRO.
9. Los Angeles, CA - $37.00 Per Capita
Los Angeles raked in $148,000,000 through parking tickets in 2019, putting the nation’s second-most populous city ninth on this list. The city announced earlier this year that Metro buses will be equipped with AI-powered cameras to issue ticket to vehicles illegally parked in bus lanes.
8. Denver, CO - $38.98 Per Capita
The Mile High City collected $27.4 million in parking ticket revenue in 2019. However, paid parking collection practices in the Denver’s lots have been called deceitful by some. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office received complaints that Parking Revenue Recovery Services was billed drivers who already paid or didn’t even park, according to KCNC.
7. Philadelphia, PA - $45.70 Per Capita
Philadelphia took in $72.2 million from parking tickets in 2019. However, the City of Brotherly Love is now warning residents about a parking ticket scam. The Philadelphia Parking Authority says that customers are receiving text messages about unpaid parking tickets as part of a phishing scam, according to KYW-TV
6. New York, NY - $63.20 Per Capita
The Big Apple amassed a staggering $545 million through parking tickets in 2019. In an effort to discourage illegal parking, the NYPD began deploying “barnacles” earlier this year to fix to the windshields of the worst repeat offenders. The devices have two industrial suction cups that apply 1,000 pounds of suction, according to WNYW.
5. Boston, MA - $83.37 Per Capita
Boston opens the list’s top five after generating $57.8 million from parking tickets in 2019. In a change of pace from usual ticket frustrations, Tufts University art students decided to hand out fake parking tickets with message of positive affirmation printed on them last November, according to boston.com
4. Chicago, IL - $97.20 Per Capita
The Windy City swept up $264 million from parking tickets in 2019. A 2022 ProPublica investigation found that Chicago households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes are ticketed at twice the rate of the city’s white area. Automated traffic cameras are evenly spread out across the city.
3. Washington, DC - $98.27 Per Capita
The nation’s capital generated $68 million in parking ticket revenue in 2019. A program launched earlier this year in Washington, DC saw vehicles with the most unpaid tickets towed. According to WUSA, 69 vehicles were towed over two months. Those cars owed a combined $604,404 in unpaid fine.
2. San Francisco, CA - $98.80 Per Capita
San Francisco made $68.2 million in parking ticket revenue in 2019. In 2024, San Francisco’s government announced a push to issue more citations to return to pre-pandemic levels. However, the transit authorities parking officers spoke out against the move to prevent violent confrontations with drivers, according to SFGate.
1. Baltimore, MD - $100.87 Per Capita
Baltimore takes the top spot by generating $61.5 million from parking tickets in 2019 with a population of 611,648. Earlier this year, the city pushed to increase ticket revenue to balance the municipal budget. According to WYPR, a new residential parking permit enforcement program is expected make $2.6 million.
