The cost of running the White House, from staff salaries to subscription services

• Running the White House Office and Residence costs millions every year.
• The White House Office is expected to spend about $51 million on permanent staff pay in fiscal 2026.
• Using government data, Business Insider compiled the costs of running the White House.

Security

White House security is funded through the broader Secret Service budget.

Congress appropriated approximately $3.25 billion for the United States Secret Service for fiscal 2026, including about $1.4 billion in protection-specific funding. Those figures cover the agency as a whole, rather than the cost of protecting the White House alone.

Security funds aren’t just for protecting the president and his immediate family. The agency also protects the vice president, the president-elect and vice president-elect and their immediate families, as well as former presidents, their spouses and their children under 16.

The Secret Service said it does not provide “detailed public reporting on its use of funding or personnel for protective missions, and staff move back and forth between protection and criminal investigation activities as duties require.”