City Infrastructure Spending Rankings 2026

Roads crumbling. Bridges rated structurally deficient. Water mains bursting. The state of American city infrastructure depends heavily on how much each municipality invests in maintenance and construction. This analysis ranks 800+ U.S. cities by per-capita highway and road spending using Census Bureau data.

Top 25 Cities by Infrastructure Spending Per Capita

Cities that invest the most in infrastructure per resident tend to be either fast-growing cities building new roads and subdivisions, cold-weather cities with heavy winter maintenance costs, or cities undertaking major capital improvement programs.

Infrastructure Spending in America's Largest Cities

Cities Spending the Least on Infrastructure

Cities at the bottom of the infrastructure spending list may be deferring maintenance — a strategy that saves money today but creates much larger costs in the future. Deferred road maintenance typically costs 4–5 times more to repair than proactive maintenance.

The Infrastructure Funding Gap

• Gas tax revenue is declining: As vehicles become more fuel-efficient and EVs grow, the per-gallon gas tax generates less revenue each year relative to road use.
• Federal funding is unpredictable: Cities rely on federal highway and infrastructure grants that fluctuate with congressional priorities and reauthorization cycles.
• Construction costs are rising: Material and labor costs for road construction have increased faster than inflation, shrinking the buying power of infrastructure budgets.
• Climate adaptation costs: Cities increasingly face drainage, flooding, and heat damage that require infrastructure upgrades not anticipated in older capital plans.

Frequently Asked Questions