Austin, TX vs Phoenix, AZ
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Austin spends 37.9% more per capita than Phoenix ($5,979/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)
| Property Tax | $0 | $7 |
| Sales Tax | $526 | $338 |
| Income Tax | $1,465 | $1,260 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,031 | $50,709 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,247 | $2,998 |
| Other | $5,645 | $2,038 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $634 | $170 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $86 |
| Education | $51 | $214 |
| Public Welfare | $1,837 | $507 |
| Health | $517 | $258 |
| Hospitals | $664 | $1,521 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,801 | $652 |
| Housing | $3,741 | $3,879 |
| Sewerage | $865 | $388 |
| Utilities | $3,264 | $2,480 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,760 |
| Other | $8,399 | $3,878 |
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.