Chicago, IL vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Chicago, IL spends 42% more per resident than El Paso, TX: $34,551 against $24,259. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Chicago, IL and El Paso, TX both land at 61/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Chicago, IL carries $977 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Chicago, IL leads with fire protection at $10,754 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Chicago, IL and 10% in El Paso, TX.
Summary
Chicago spends 42.4% more per capita than El Paso ($10,292/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $26 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $74 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $229 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $85,083 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,847 | $31 |
| Other | $3,463 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $10,754 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $930 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $1,858 | $299 |
| Health | $426 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,444 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $122 | $151 |
| Housing | $6,520 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $129 | $6 |
| Utilities | $2,983 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $9,385 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.