Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau, fiscal year 2023
Is Minneapolis, MN in Financial Trouble?
No — Minneapolis, MN is not in financial trouble. It earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (65/100), a solid reading. The city is balancing its budget and keeping debt and pension obligations within healthy bounds for a city its size.
Minneapolis, MN Budget Snapshot
| Total Spending | $9.4B |
| Per Capita Spending | $21,910 |
| Total Revenue | $8.2B |
| Total Debt | $274.8M |
| Debt Per Capita | $644 |
| Population | 426,877 |
| Fiscal Health Score | 65/100 (B) |
| Data Year | FY 2023 |
Fiscal Health Score Breakdown
Minneapolis's B grade is the weighted average of six factors, each scored 0–100. Its strongest input is Revenue Diversity (100/100); its weakest is Budget Balance & Reserves (17/100). The weakest factor is where budget pressure is most likely to surface first.
What Does the B Grade Mean?
Minneapolis, MN earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (65/100). The city's books are reliably balanced and debt is manageable, with one or two factors (typically pension funding or revenue diversity) keeping the score below A range.
Debt Burden in Context
Debt-wise, Minneapolis runs above the peer-group median: $644 per resident versus $445 for similar-size cities. That gap, 45%, may reflect a recent bond issuance, large capital project, or simply a more-debt-funded approach to infrastructure.
Where the Money Goes
Of the $9.4B that Minneapolis, MN spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Parks & Recreation at $3,486. Fire Protection comes next at $683 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 10 percent, intergovernmental transfers from federal and state sources 15 percent, and direct charges and user fees 11 percent. The remainder comes from utility revenue, income tax (where applicable), and miscellaneous sources.
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.
More about Minneapolis, MN
No — Minneapolis, MN is not in financial trouble. It earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (65/100), a solid reading. The city is balancing its budget and keeping debt and pension obligations within healthy bounds for a city its size.
This answer pulls from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, the authoritative federal source for U.S. municipal and county government finances. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.