Arlington, TX vs Raleigh, NC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Raleigh, NC spends 18% more per resident than Arlington, TX: $13,911 against $11,769. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Arlington, TX edges Raleigh, NC on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 83/100 (grade A) to 76/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Arlington, TX carries the lighter load at $594 per resident versus $906 for Raleigh, NC. 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 Raleigh, NC at $1,391.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 41% of total revenue in Arlington, TX and 47% in Raleigh, NC.
Summary
Raleigh spends 15.4% more per capita than Arlington ($2,142/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 | $858 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $806 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $14,128 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $2,681 |
| Other | $3,897 | $4,740 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $160 | $277 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $448 |
| Education | $0 | $6 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $498 |
| Health | $219 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $669 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $1,391 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $2,712 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $281 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $2,469 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,513 |
| Other | $4,404 | $3,646 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.