Arlington, TX vs Lubbock, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Lubbock, TX outspends Arlington, TX by a wide margin per resident — $32,743 versus $11,769, a 178% 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 56/100 (grade C) for Lubbock, TX — a 27-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Lubbock, 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 Lubbock, TX leads with police at $322.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Arlington, TX at 41% of total revenue, whereas Lubbock, TX relies most on other revenue at 25%.
Summary
Lubbock spends 64.1% more per capita than Arlington ($20,974/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 | $2 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $76 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $0 |
| Other | $3,897 | $781 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $322 |
| Fire Protection | $160 | $173 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $296 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $258 |
| Health | $219 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $13 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $2,128 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $45 |
| General Admin | $0 | $26,777 |
| Other | $4,404 | $2,732 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.