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

Atlanta, GA vs Dallas, TX

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

Summary

Dallas spends 27.0% more per capita than Atlanta ($9,392/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
Dallas, TX
Pop. 1,300,642
C
57/100
Budget Balance16
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency21
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Atlanta
Dallas
Total Spending
$12.6B
$45.3B
Spending / Capita
$25,457
$34,849
Total Revenue
$77.6B
$7.1B
Revenue / Capita
$156,803
$5,474
Total Debt
$0
$0
Debt / Capita
$0
$0
Population
494,838
1,300,642
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Atlanta$315
Dallas$1,519
Fire Protection
Atlanta$464
Dallas$305
Highways & Roads
Atlanta$513
Dallas$201
Parks & Recreation
Atlanta$1,274
Dallas$0
Education
Atlanta$25
Dallas$62

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

AtlantaDallas
Property Tax
$419
$9
Sales Tax
$0
$25
Income Tax
$1,292
$0
Intergovernmental
$9,121
$1,223
Charges & Fees
$5,645
$0
Other
$5,461
$584

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

AtlantaDallas
Police
$315
$1,519
Fire Protection
$464
$305
Highways & Roads
$513
$201
Education
$25
$62
Public Welfare
$1,587
$215
Hospitals
$55
$385
Parks & Recreation
$1,274
$0
Housing
$4,594
$444
Sewerage
$343
$0
Utilities
$8,026
$833
General Admin
$0
$25,827
Other
$8,262
$5,059
A
Atlanta, GA
Fiscal Health Score: 85/100
Excellent fiscal health
C
Dallas, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 57/100
Average 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.