Auburn, AL vs Dothan, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Dothan, AL spends 44% more per resident than Auburn, AL: $17,116 against $11,856. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Auburn, AL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 80/100 (grade A) against 68/100 (grade B) for Dothan, AL — a 12-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Auburn, AL at $934 per resident and in Dothan, AL at $4,666.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Auburn, AL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Dothan, AL relies most on other revenue at 26%.
Summary
Dothan spends 30.7% more per capita than Auburn ($5,261/person difference). Auburn, AL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 80/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $22 | $671 |
| Income Tax | $713 | $756 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,016 | $919 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,773 | $1,664 |
| Other | $3,814 | $3,341 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $290 |
| Fire Protection | $551 | $632 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $290 |
| Public Welfare | $1,001 | $1,177 |
| Health | $328 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,012 | $126 |
| Parks & Recreation | $934 | $4,666 |
| Housing | $2,229 | $3,247 |
| Sewerage | $182 | $309 |
| Utilities | $1,765 | $2,759 |
| Other | $3,853 | $3,622 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.