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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Fiscal Health Score?
A 0-100 rating (graded A through F) measuring a city's overall financial condition across six factors: budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden (20%), pension funding (20%), spending efficiency (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and fiscal trend direction (10%).
Where does the data come from?
All data comes from public sources: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, Census ASPEP for payroll, USASpending.gov for federal grants, the Public Plans Database for pensions, and city open data portals.
Which cities are included?
Every incorporated municipality with 50,000+ residents — approximately 800 cities across all 50 states.
How is spending per capita calculated?
Total city expenditure (or specific department spending) divided by population. A city of 50,000 spending $200 million and a city of 500,000 spending $2 billion both spend $4,000 per capita.