Austin, TX vs Fort Worth, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Austin, TX spends 37% more per resident than Fort Worth, TX: $21,772 against $15,939. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Austin, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 63/100 (grade C) for Fort Worth, TX — a 12-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Austin, TX carries the lighter load at $1,229 per resident versus $1,921 for Fort Worth, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Austin, TX at $1,801 per resident and in Fort Worth, TX at $708.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 18% of total revenue in Austin, TX and 15% in Fort Worth, TX.
Summary
Austin spends 36.6% more per capita than Fort Worth ($5,833/person difference). Austin, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $526 | $198 |
| Income Tax | $1,465 | $851 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,031 | $4,002 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,247 | $3,594 |
| Other | $5,645 | $3,439 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $634 | $156 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $317 |
| Education | $51 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,837 | $869 |
| Health | $517 | $235 |
| Hospitals | $664 | $1,680 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,801 | $708 |
| Housing | $3,741 | $4,217 |
| Sewerage | $865 | $267 |
| Utilities | $3,264 | $2,674 |
| Other | $8,399 | $4,817 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.