Arlington, TX vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX outspends Arlington, TX by a wide margin per resident — $24,259 versus $11,769, a 106% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Arlington, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 61/100 (grade C) for El Paso, TX — a 22-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Arlington, TX carries $594 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Arlington, TX leads with parks and recreation at $1,352 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 41% of total revenue in Arlington, TX and 10% in El Paso, TX.
Summary
El Paso spends 51.5% more per capita than Arlington ($12,490/person difference). Arlington, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $507 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $31 |
| Other | $3,897 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $160 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $299 |
| Health | $219 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $151 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $6 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $4,404 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.