Atlanta, GA vs Detroit, MI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Detroit spends 18.1% more per capita than Atlanta ($5,630/person difference). Atlanta, GA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 85/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $419 | $44 |
| Sales Tax | $0 | $200 |
| Income Tax | $1,292 | $1,045 |
| Intergovernmental | $9,121 | $291 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,645 | $2,228 |
| Other | $5,461 | $6,892 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $315 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $464 | $2,429 |
| Highways & Roads | $513 | $0 |
| Education | $25 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,587 | $833 |
| Health | $0 | $396 |
| Hospitals | $55 | $2,217 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,274 | $950 |
| Housing | $4,594 | $5,791 |
| Sewerage | $343 | $451 |
| Utilities | $8,026 | $2,737 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,068 |
| Other | $8,262 | $13,216 |
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.