Bismarck, ND vs Fargo, ND
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Bismarck spends 6.9% more per capita than Fargo ($920/person difference). Fargo, ND has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 64/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $292 |
| Sales Tax | $998 | $1,029 |
| Income Tax | $1,341 | $1,364 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,654 | $6,065 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,652 | $2,017 |
| Other | $3,626 | $2,985 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $45 |
| Fire Protection | $663 | $241 |
| Highways & Roads | $123 | $216 |
| Public Welfare | $1,581 | $1,537 |
| Health | $404 | $409 |
| Hospitals | $26 | $127 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,065 | $1,205 |
| Housing | $3,590 | $1,862 |
| Sewerage | $143 | $204 |
| Utilities | $2,252 | $2,262 |
| Interest on Debt | $725 | $865 |
| Other | $3,599 | $4,277 |
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.