Albany, NY vs Buffalo, NY
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Buffalo, NY spends 30% more per resident than Albany, NY: $60,354 against $46,595. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Albany, NY edges Buffalo, NY on the Fiscal Health Score by 6 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 57/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Albany, NY leads with police at $3,815 per resident, while Buffalo, NY leads with education at $39,263.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 22% of total revenue in Albany, NY and 22% in Buffalo, NY.
Summary
Buffalo spends 22.8% more per capita than Albany ($13,759/person difference). Albany, NY has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $1,242 | $252 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $898 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,947 | $840 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $1,679 |
| Other | $6,604 | $2,952 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,815 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $558 | $306 |
| Highways & Roads | $391 | $432 |
| Education | $0 | $39,263 |
| Public Welfare | $1,363 | $1,112 |
| Health | $91 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $663 | $410 |
| Housing | $2,042 | $3,491 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $189 |
| Utilities | $13,046 | $3,425 |
| Interest on Debt | $88 | $0 |
| Other | $24,538 | $11,726 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.