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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Atlanta, GA vs Arlington, TX

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Atlanta spends 116.3% more per capita than Arlington ($13,688/person difference). Atlanta, GA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 85/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Atlanta, GA
Pop. 494,838
A
85/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency64
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Arlington, TX
Pop. 393,469
A
83/100
Budget Balance78
Debt Burden96
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity89
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Atlanta
Arlington
Total Spending
$12.6B
$4.6B
Spending / Capita
$25,457
$11,769
Total Revenue
$77.6B
$23.8B
Revenue / Capita
$156,803
$60,454
Total Debt
$0
$233.8M
Debt / Capita
$0
$594
Population
494,838
393,469
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Atlanta$315
Arlington$0
Fire Protection
Atlanta$464
Arlington$160
Highways & Roads
Atlanta$513
Arlington$149
Parks & Recreation
Atlanta$1,274
Arlington$1,352
Education
Atlanta$25
Arlington$0
Health
Atlanta$0
Arlington$219

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

AtlantaArlington
Property Tax
$419
$0
Sales Tax
$0
$507
Income Tax
$1,292
$73
Intergovernmental
$9,121
$25,062
Charges & Fees
$5,645
$2,949
Other
$5,461
$3,897

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

AtlantaArlington
Police
$315
$0
Fire Protection
$464
$160
Highways & Roads
$513
$149
Education
$25
$0
Public Welfare
$1,587
$826
Health
$0
$219
Hospitals
$55
$152
Parks & Recreation
$1,274
$1,352
Housing
$4,594
$2,981
Sewerage
$343
$141
Utilities
$8,026
$1,385
Other
$8,262
$4,404
A
Atlanta, GA
Fiscal Health Score: 85/100
Excellent fiscal health
A
Arlington, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 83/100
Excellent fiscal health

Compare More Cities

The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.