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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Kansas City, MO

Population: 505,958 (2022) · Large Cities (250K+)

C
52/100

Average fiscal health, some areas of concern

Total Spending
$11.5B
Per Capita
$22,820
Total Revenue
$675.4M
Total Debt
$0

Spending Breakdown

Other
38.2%$4.4B
Housing & Community Development
20.5%$2.4B
Utilities
13.7%$1.6B
Public Welfare
13.2%$1.5B
Hospitals
8.1%$935.5M
Parks & Recreation
5.7%$662.5M
Fire Protection
0.5%$60.2M

Spending data sourced from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances. Per-capita comparisons use the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities methodology for fair cross-city benchmarking.

Revenue Sources

Sales Tax
46.7%$315.1M
Intergovernmental
0.5%$3.7M
Charges & Fees
284.2%$1.9B
Other
835.3%$5.6B

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection$119/person
Parks & Recreation$1,309/person

Score Breakdown

Budget Balance & Reserves (25%)1/100
Debt Burden (20%)100/100
Pension Funding (20%)76/100
Spending Efficiency (15%)76/100
Revenue Diversity (10%)0/100
Trend Direction (10%)50/100

Compare Cities

See how Kansas City stacks up against another city.

vs St. Louis, MOvs Springfield, MOvs Columbia, MO
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023). Population from American Community Survey.

Other Cities in Missouri

St. Louis, MO

Pop. 298K

B
Total Spending
$5.3B
Per Capita
$17,927

Springfield, MO

Pop. 169K

A
Total Spending
$2.7B
Per Capita
$15,703

Columbia, MO

Pop. 126K

B
Total Spending
$1.7B
Per Capita
$13,757

Independence, MO

Pop. 122K

A
Total Spending
$999.2M
Per Capita
$8,176

Compare Kansas City With

St. Louis, MO

Spending: $17,927/person · Grade: B

Springfield, MO

Spending: $15,703/person · Grade: A

Columbia, MO

Spending: $13,757/person · Grade: B

Independence, MO

Spending: $8,176/person · Grade: A

Frequently Asked Questions

Kansas City, MO spends $22,820 per resident, based on total expenditures of $11.5B for a population of 505,958. The city has a Fiscal Health Score of C (52/100).

Kansas City, MO has total expenditures of $11.5B and total revenue of $675.4M. The city carries $0 in total debt, based on Census Bureau data from 2023.

Kansas City, MO employs 0 government workers, of which 0 are full-time. The average government salary is $0, with 0.0 employees per 10,000 residents.

Kansas City, MO has a Fiscal Health Score of C (52/100). This score evaluates budget balance, debt burden, pension funding, spending efficiency, revenue diversity, and 3-year fiscal trajectory compared to peer cities of similar population.

Last updated:

For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.

The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.

Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. cities, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.