In analyzing the dollar amounts collected in Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) by the counties in California, the numbers are staggering.
Staggering, at least, when it comes to Mariposa County.
Believe it or not, it appears Mariposa County annually collects about the same amount of TOT dollars as — Los Angeles County.
Certainly, consideration must be taken that Mariposa County has no incorporated cities, meaning the county collects all of the TOT funds.
That means the hundreds of incorporated cities in Los Angeles County also collect various shares of the bed tax. The same is true for other counties around the state, but the numbers remain pretty staggering when it comes to dollars collected compared to population.
When compared to the population of Los Angeles and the other high-collection counties on the list, it becomes clear Mariposa County has a huge percentage of collections compared to its modest population.
According to data from the California Comptrollers Office, Monterey County leads the way when it comes to the amount of funds collected. In 2024, the latest information available, there was $38,564,453 in TOT collected in Monterey County. It should be noted the population of that county is around 435,000 people.
Number two on the list is Sonoma County, in California’s famed wine country. Sonoma County collected $31,516,088 in 2024. It has a population of 486,000.
Third was Placer County which includes a portion of the Lake Tahoe area. Total TOT collections there in 2024 were $28,637,209 with a county population of around 450,000 residents.
Los Angeles County came in fourth that year with TOT collections of $25,000,983. Total population? More than 9.7 million people.
Mariposa County, in 2024, collected $24,011,990, according to the state. That seems to indicate it runs neck-and-neck each year with Los Angeles County. Mariposa County’s population hovers around 17,000 people.
By contrast, other counties in this region collect far less in TOT than Mariposa County.
For example, Mono County, which also borders Yosemite National Park, brought in $4,449,650 in 2024. It should be noted that county does have incorporated cities which also collect funds. Mono County has fewer residents that Mariposa County, with around 13,000.
In Madera County, it took in $7,654,180 in 2024. Most of the TOT collections are likely from Eastern Madera County where there are many vacation rentals as well as hotels. Madera County has around 170,000 residents.
In Tuolumne County, TOT collections were $9,000,062 in 2024. It, too, is a county which borders Yosemite National Park. The population of Tuolumne County is around 53,000 people.
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