Cincinnati, OH vs Akron, OH
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Cincinnati, OH spends 26% more per resident than Akron, OH: $24,651 against $19,638. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Cincinnati, OH holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 85/100 (grade A) against 73/100 (grade B) for Akron, OH — a 12-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Cincinnati, OH leads with parks and recreation at $2,030 per resident, while Akron, OH leads with fire protection at $922.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Cincinnati, OH at 16% of total revenue, whereas Akron, OH relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Cincinnati spends 25.5% more per capita than Akron ($5,013/person difference). Cincinnati, OH has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 85/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $988 | $148 |
| Income Tax | $22 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $738 | $23,016 |
| Charges & Fees | $6,264 | $1,806 |
| Other | $2,429 | $6,798 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,931 | $922 |
| Highways & Roads | $259 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $988 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,630 | $4,350 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,030 | $689 |
| Housing | $5,569 | $3,898 |
| Sewerage | $312 | $8 |
| Utilities | $5,619 | $3,689 |
| Interest on Debt | $435 | $0 |
| Other | $5,878 | $6,081 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.