Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau, fiscal year 2023
Is St. Louis, MO in Financial Trouble?
No — St. Louis, MO is not in financial trouble. It earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (75/100), a solid reading. The city is balancing its budget and keeping debt and pension obligations within healthy bounds for a city its size.
St. Louis, MO Budget Snapshot
| Total Spending | $5.3B |
| Per Capita Spending | $17,927 |
| Total Revenue | $4.3B |
| Total Debt | $0 |
| Debt Per Capita | $0 |
| Population | 298,018 |
| Fiscal Health Score | 75/100 (B) |
| Data Year | FY 2023 |
Fiscal Health Score Breakdown
St. Louis's B grade is the weighted average of six factors, each scored 0–100. Its strongest input is Debt Burden (per capita vs peers) (100/100); its weakest is 3-Year Trend Direction (50/100). The weakest factor is where budget pressure is most likely to surface first.
What Does the B Grade Mean?
St. Louis, MO earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (75/100). 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, St. Louis runs below the peer-group median: $0 per resident versus $445 for similar-size cities. Lower debt is generally a positive fiscal signal but can also reflect deferred maintenance if capital needs are not being addressed.
Where the Money Goes
Of the $5.3B that St. Louis, MO spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Parks & Recreation at $1,053. Highways & Roads comes next at $772 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 1 percent, intergovernmental transfers from federal and state sources 39 percent, and direct charges and user fees 1 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 St. Louis, MO
No — St. Louis, MO is not in financial trouble. It earns a B on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (75/100), 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.
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.