Arlington, TX vs Plano, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Plano, TX spends 43% more per resident than Arlington, TX: $16,842 against $11,769. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Arlington, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 75/100 (grade B) for Plano, TX — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Arlington, TX carries the lighter load at $594 per resident versus $663 for Plano, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Arlington, TX at $1,352 per resident and in Plano, TX at $1,518.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Arlington, TX at 41% of total revenue, whereas Plano, TX relies most on charges and fees at 20%.
Summary
Plano spends 30.1% more per capita than Arlington ($5,072/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 | $644 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $731 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $2,683 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $3,976 |
| Other | $3,897 | $3,004 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $160 | $125 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $319 |
| Education | $0 | $34 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $283 |
| Health | $219 | $463 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $194 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $1,518 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $3,356 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $145 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $4,137 |
| Other | $4,404 | $6,268 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.