Where Your City Spends
Every Dollar
Department spending, government payroll, pension funding, and debt, every city gets a Fiscal Health Score so you can see how yours compares to peers.
How Do 871 Cities Score?
Healthiest Fiscal Cities
Most Fiscally Stressed
Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?
Enter your city and annual tax payment. See exactly how every dollar is split across police, fire, roads, parks, debt, and more.
Open Calculator →America's Largest Cities
New York, NY
Pop. 8.6M
Los Angeles, CA
Pop. 3.9M
Chicago, IL
Pop. 2.7M
Houston, TX
Pop. 2.3M
Phoenix, AZ
Pop. 1.6M
Philadelphia, PA
Pop. 1.6M
San Antonio, TX
Pop. 1.4M
San Diego, CA
Pop. 1.4M
Dallas, TX
Pop. 1.3M
San Jose, CA
Pop. 1.0M
Austin, TX
Pop. 958K
Jacksonville, FL
Pop. 950K
Compare Any Two Cities
Pick two cities for a side-by-side breakdown of fiscal health, per-capita spending, debt, police, fire, parks, and revenue sources.
From the Blog
Where Do Your City Tax Dollars Go?
A breakdown of how cities allocate spending across departments.
Municipal Pension Crisis 2026
Which cities have the most underfunded pensions?
Cities With the Highest Government Salaries
Average government pay rankings for 800+ cities.
Police Spending by City
Per-capita police spending rankings across 800+ cities.
Federal Grants by City
Which cities get the most federal money?
Cities Most Dependent on One Revenue Source
Revenue diversity rankings, who is most at risk?
Municipal Finance Glossary
60+ terms explained in plain language, bonds, pensions, TIF districts, CAFR reports, and more.
Featured Cities
Fort Worth
CTX · Pop. 924,663 · $15,939/capita
Columbus
COH · Pop. 902,449 · $18,858/capita
Indianapolis city (balance)
BIN · Pop. 882,006 · $46,045/capita
Charlotte
CNC · Pop. 875,045 · $15,854/capita
San Francisco
DCA · Pop. 851,036 · $184,131/capita
Seattle
CWA · Pop. 734,603 · $34,463/capita
Denver
CCO · Pop. 710,800 · $33,582/capita
Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance)
DTN · Pop. 684,103 · $48,948/capita
Oklahoma City
BOK · Pop. 681,088 · $18,074/capita
El Paso
CTX · Pop. 677,181 · $24,259/capita
Washington
DDC · Pop. 670,587 · $243,341/capita
Boston
CMA · Pop. 665,945 · $72,299/capita
Portland
COR · Pop. 646,101 · $23,675/capita
Las Vegas
ANV · Pop. 644,835 · $9,085/capita
Detroit
BMI · Pop. 636,787 · $31,087/capita
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Fiscal Health Score?
The Fiscal Health Score is a 0-100 rating (graded A through F) that measures a city's overall financial condition across six weighted factors: budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden relative to peer cities (20%), pension funding ratio (20%), spending efficiency compared to service quality (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and 3-year fiscal trend direction (10%). A city scoring 80+ earns an A, indicating strong financial management and low fiscal risk. Cities scoring below 40 receive a D or F, flagging structural budget problems, excessive debt, or underfunded pensions that may lead to service cuts or tax increases.
Where does the data come from?
All data comes from public government sources: the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (the primary source for revenue and expenditure breakdowns), Census ASPEP for government employee payroll and headcount, USASpending.gov for federal grants and contracts flowing to each city, the Public Plans Database maintained by Boston College for pension funding data, and individual city open data portals for detailed department-level spending. We process, normalize, and merge these datasets to create a unified picture of each city's finances that would otherwise require visiting dozens of separate sources.
Which cities are included?
CitySpend covers every incorporated municipality in the United States with a population of 50,000 or more residents, approximately 800 cities across all 50 states. This threshold ensures we have sufficient Census and financial data for meaningful analysis and comparison. Cities are grouped by population tier (50K-100K, 100K-250K, 250K-500K, 500K+) for peer comparisons, so a small city's spending is benchmarked against similarly sized cities rather than major metros. We use the most recent Census population estimates for both filtering and per-capita calculations.
How is spending per capita calculated?
Spending per capita is calculated by dividing a city's total expenditure (or specific department expenditure) by its population. This normalization allows meaningful comparison between cities of very different sizes. A city of 50,000 spending $200 million and a city of 500,000 spending $2 billion both spend $4,000 per capita on government services. We calculate per-capita figures for total spending and for each major department category (police, fire, parks, public works, etc.) so you can see exactly where your city spends more or less than its peers.
Why does pension funding matter for city finances?
Pension obligations are often the largest long-term liability on a city's balance sheet. When a city's pension fund is underfunded (assets are less than the promised future benefits), the city must make larger annual contributions to close the gap, crowding out spending on current services like police, roads, and parks. Cities with severely underfunded pensions, like some that have entered fiscal emergencies, may face pressure to raise taxes, cut services, or reduce benefits. Our Fiscal Health Score weights pension funding at 20% because it is one of the strongest predictors of a city's long-term financial stability.
What is revenue diversity and why does it matter?
Revenue diversity measures how many different sources a city relies on for income, including property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, fees, fines, intergovernmental transfers, and utility revenue. Cities that depend heavily on a single revenue source are more vulnerable to economic shocks. For example, a city that gets 70% of revenue from sales tax will see a sharp budget decline during a recession when consumer spending drops. Cities with diversified revenue streams can better absorb downturns because different sources respond differently to economic conditions. Our score rewards cities with balanced revenue portfolios.