Chattanooga, TN vs Murfreesboro, TN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Chattanooga, TN spends 28% more per resident than Murfreesboro, TN: $24,150 against $18,812. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Chattanooga, TN holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 78/100 (grade B) against 44/100 (grade D) for Murfreesboro, TN — a 34-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Chattanooga, TN reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Murfreesboro, TN carries $2,467 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Chattanooga, TN leads with parks and recreation at $1,596 per resident, while Murfreesboro, TN leads with education at $7,574.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Chattanooga, TN at 35% of total revenue, whereas Murfreesboro, TN relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Chattanooga spends 28.4% more per capita than Murfreesboro ($5,338/person difference). Chattanooga, TN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 78/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $82 | $355 |
| Income Tax | $301 | $349 |
| Intergovernmental | $597 | $27,007 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,562 |
| Other | $13,286 | $40 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,061 | $558 |
| Highways & Roads | $212 | $87 |
| Education | $0 | $7,574 |
| Public Welfare | $895 | $752 |
| Health | $436 | $86 |
| Hospitals | $697 | $300 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,596 | $1,074 |
| Housing | $4,908 | $2,655 |
| Sewerage | $175 | $133 |
| Utilities | $1,629 | $2,530 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,068 | $203 |
| Other | $10,474 | $2,861 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.