How Much 25 Major Cities Make in Parking Ticket Revenue Per Capita

Written by Steven Thomas

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Baltimore, Maryland, collects the most revenue per capita from parking tickets, at an average of $100.87.

While parking tickets can be frustrating for drivers, cities often apply the revenue to beneficial transportation projects such as improving bike and bus infrastructure. Unfortunately, some cities have leased their parking meters to private companies, eliminating profit that could have been funneled into city infrastructure.

In addition to expensive parking ticket violations, Chicago is also home to the most expensive parking meters in the United States.

Since private companies took over Chicago’s parking meter system, prices have steadily risen. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago’s parking meter system raked in $134.2 million in 2017, putting private investors on course to recoup their entire $1.16 billion investment by 2021 with 62 years left on the lease.

The top 10 major U.S. cities with the highest parking ticket revenues per capita are:

  1. Baltimore, Maryland — $100.87 per capita ($61,695,948 in total)
  2. San Francisco, California — $98.80 per capita ($68,200,000 in total)
  3. Washington, D.C. — $98.27 per capita ($68,200,000 in total)
  4. Chicago, Illinois — $97.20 per capita ($264,000,000 in total)
  5. Boston, Massachusetts — $83.37 per capita ($57,800,000 in total)
  6. New York, New York — $63.20 per capita ($545,000,000 in total)
  7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — $45.70 per capita ($72,279,047 in total)
  8. Denver, Colorado — $38.98 per capita ($27,466,003 in total)
  9. Los Angeles, California — $37 per capita ($148,000,000 in total)
  10. Seattle, Washington — $28.66 per capita ($20,773,136 in total)