Bakersfield, CA vs Fort Worth, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fort Worth, TX spends 38% more per resident than Bakersfield, CA: $15,939 against $11,576. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Fort Worth, TX edges Bakersfield, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 56/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Bakersfield, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Fort Worth, TX carries $1,921 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Bakersfield, CA at $741 per resident and in Fort Worth, TX at $708.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Bakersfield, CA and 15% in Fort Worth, TX.
Summary
Fort Worth spends 27.4% more per capita than Bakersfield ($4,363/person difference). Fort Worth, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $20 | $198 |
| Income Tax | $1,909 | $851 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,862 | $4,002 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,024 | $3,594 |
| Other | $1,915 | $3,439 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $156 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $317 |
| Public Welfare | $840 | $869 |
| Health | $0 | $235 |
| Hospitals | $425 | $1,680 |
| Parks & Recreation | $741 | $708 |
| Housing | $3,391 | $4,217 |
| Sewerage | $265 | $267 |
| Utilities | $2,679 | $2,674 |
| Other | $3,234 | $4,817 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.