Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau, fiscal year 2023
How Does Providence, RI Spend Tax Money?
Providence, RI spends $50,124 per resident on city services, $9.5B in total. Per the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, the largest per-capita line items are Education ($29,047), Parks & Recreation ($653), Highways & Roads ($605). CitySpend's Fiscal Health Score for Providence is F (32/100), a distressed reading versus its 251 peer cities.
Providence, RI Budget Snapshot
| Total Spending | $9.5B |
| Per Capita Spending | $50,124 |
| Total Revenue | $7.3B |
| Total Debt | $315.7M |
| Debt Per Capita | $1,664 |
| Population | 189,715 |
| Fiscal Health Score | 32/100 (F) |
| Data Year | FY 2023 |
What Does the F Grade Mean?
Providence, RI earns an F on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (32/100), the most distressed tier in the dataset. Audited reports likely show going-concern language, escalating pension liabilities, or debt service crowding out core services. Treat the F grade as a screening signal to read the full Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
Where the Money Goes
Of the $9.5B that Providence, RI spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Education at $29,047. Parks & Recreation comes next at $653 per resident. Together those two functions account for the bulk of every-day taxpayer-facing services in the city budget. The remaining categories, parks, health, housing, debt service, and general administration, fill out the picture.
Top Spending Categories (Per Capita)
Where the Money Comes From
Where does the money come from? Property tax provides 0 percent of city revenue, sales tax 0 percent, intergovernmental transfers from federal and state sources 2 percent, and direct charges and user fees 13 percent. The remainder comes from utility revenue, income tax (where applicable), and miscellaneous sources.
Debt Burden in Context
Debt-wise, Providence sits close to the peer median for cities its size: $1,664 per resident versus a peer-group median of $0. That tracks with normal capital-program borrowing for streets, water, and public buildings.
How This Score Is Calculated
The CitySpend Fiscal Health Score combines six factors into one composite, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances: budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden per capita versus peer median (20%), pension funded ratio from the Public Plans Database (20%), spending efficiency (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and three-year trend direction (10%). Best-practice weighting follows guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Read the full methodology.
Providence, RI spends $50,124 per resident on city services, $9.5B in total. Per the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, the largest per-capita line items are Education ($29,047), Parks & Recreation ($653), Highways & Roads ($605). CitySpend's Fiscal Health Score for Providence is F (32/100), a distressed reading versus its 251 peer cities.
The data source behind this answer is the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. Every figure on the page traces back to that source; the methodology page describes the inputs and the refresh cadence in full detail.
A practical caveat: the headline answer above reflects the most recent the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances vintage; underlying data is often revised for months after first publication, and the right reference for any specific decision is whichever vintage is current at the time of the decision. The as-of date is stamped on every page.