Is Rio Rancho, NM in Financial Trouble?

Rio Rancho's A grade is the weighted average of six factors, each scored 0–100. Its strongest input is Budget Balance & Reserves (100/100); its weakest is 3-Year Trend Direction (50/100). The weakest factor is where budget pressure is most likely to surface first.

Rio Rancho, NM earns an A on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (88/100), a top-decile reading. Reserves and budget balance are healthy, debt and pension burdens are well within peer norms, and the three-year trend is constructive.

Debt-wise, Rio Rancho sits close to the peer median for cities its size: $511 per resident versus a peer-group median of $0. That tracks with normal capital-program borrowing for streets, water, and public buildings.

Of the $1.0B that Rio Rancho, NM spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Parks & Recreation at $656. Health comes next at $314 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.

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 1 percent, and direct charges and user fees 16 percent. The remainder comes from utility revenue, income tax (where applicable), and miscellaneous sources.

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.