Baltimore, MD vs Houston, TX

Baltimore, MD outspends Houston, TX by a wide margin per resident — $67,935 versus $14,400, a 372% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Houston, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 70/100 (grade B) for Baltimore, MD — a 13-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Baltimore, MD reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Houston, TX carries $863 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Baltimore, MD leads with education at $35,510 per resident, while Houston, TX leads with parks and recreation at $361.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Baltimore, MD at 7% of total revenue, whereas Houston, TX relies most on other revenue at 7%.