Auburn, AL vs Mobile, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Mobile, AL spends 33% more per resident than Auburn, AL: $15,777 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 55/100 (grade C) for Mobile, AL — a 25-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. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Auburn, AL leads with parks and recreation at $934 per resident, while Mobile, AL leads with fire protection at $2,010.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Auburn, AL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Mobile, AL relies most on other revenue at 111%.
Summary
Mobile spends 24.9% more per capita than Auburn ($3,922/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 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $713 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,016 | $1,338 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,773 | $0 |
| Other | $3,814 | $1,479 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $537 |
| Fire Protection | $551 | $2,010 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $501 |
| Public Welfare | $1,001 | $2,357 |
| Health | $328 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,012 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $934 | $524 |
| Housing | $2,229 | $2,998 |
| Sewerage | $182 | $129 |
| Utilities | $1,765 | $791 |
| Other | $3,853 | $5,930 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.