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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Chicago, IL vs Dallas, TX

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Dallas spends 0.9% more per capita than Chicago ($298/person difference). Chicago, IL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Chicago, IL
Pop. 2,721,914
C
61/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden61
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency22
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
City B
Dallas, TX
Pop. 1,300,642
C
57/100
Budget Balance16
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency21
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Chicago
Dallas
Total Spending
$94.0B
$45.3B
Spending / Capita
$34,551
$34,849
Total Revenue
$231.6B
$7.1B
Revenue / Capita
$85,083
$5,474
Total Debt
$2.7B
$0
Debt / Capita
$977
$0
Population
2,721,914
1,300,642
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Chicago$0
Dallas$1,519
Fire Protection
Chicago$10,754
Dallas$305
Highways & Roads
Chicago$930
Dallas$201
Parks & Recreation
Chicago$122
Dallas$0
Education
Chicago$0
Dallas$62
Health
Chicago$426
Dallas$0

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

ChicagoDallas
Property Tax
$26
$9
Sales Tax
$74
$25
Income Tax
$229
$0
Intergovernmental
$85,083
$1,223
Charges & Fees
$2,847
$0
Other
$3,463
$584

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

ChicagoDallas
Police
$0
$1,519
Fire Protection
$10,754
$305
Highways & Roads
$930
$201
Education
$0
$62
Public Welfare
$1,858
$215
Health
$426
$0
Hospitals
$1,444
$385
Parks & Recreation
$122
$0
Housing
$6,520
$444
Sewerage
$129
$0
Utilities
$2,983
$833
General Admin
$0
$25,827
Other
$9,385
$5,059
C
Chicago, IL
Fiscal Health Score: 61/100
Average fiscal health
C
Dallas, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 57/100
Average fiscal health

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