Arlington, TX vs Wichita, KS
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Arlington, TX spends 47% more per resident than Wichita, KS: $11,769 against $7,986. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Wichita, KS edges Arlington, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 90/100 (grade A) to 83/100 (grade A). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Wichita, KS carries the lighter load at $132 per resident versus $594 for Arlington, 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 Wichita, KS at $874.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 41% of total revenue in Arlington, TX and 14% in Wichita, KS.
Summary
Arlington spends 47.4% more per capita than Wichita ($3,783/person difference). Wichita, KS has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $507 | $246 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $57 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $3,895 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $3,193 |
| Other | $3,897 | $2,783 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $160 | $152 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $126 |
| Education | $0 | $2 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $441 |
| Health | $219 | $254 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $113 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $874 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $2,618 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $1,225 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $70 |
| Other | $4,404 | $2,111 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.