Charlotte, NC vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 53% more per resident than Charlotte, NC: $24,259 against $15,854. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Charlotte, NC edges El Paso, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 61/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Charlotte, NC carries $2,690 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Charlotte, NC leads with parks and recreation at $1,571 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Charlotte, NC at 10% of total revenue, whereas El Paso, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 10%.
Summary
El Paso spends 34.6% more per capita than Charlotte ($8,405/person difference). Charlotte, NC has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $541 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $366 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,859 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,459 | $31 |
| Other | $4,866 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $463 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $41 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $672 | $299 |
| Hospitals | $1,243 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,571 | $151 |
| Housing | $3,944 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $6 |
| Utilities | $2,244 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,226 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $3,448 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.