Colorado Springs, CO vs Charlotte, NC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Charlotte, NC spends 20% more per resident than Colorado Springs, CO: $15,854 against $13,222. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Charlotte, NC edges Colorado Springs, CO on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 59/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Charlotte, NC carries the lighter load at $2,690 per resident versus $3,063 for Colorado Springs, CO. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Colorado Springs, CO leads with fire protection at $1,266 per resident, while Charlotte, NC leads with parks and recreation at $1,571.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Colorado Springs, CO at 13% of total revenue, whereas Charlotte, NC relies most on other revenue at 10%.
Summary
Charlotte spends 16.6% more per capita than Colorado Springs ($2,631/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 | $257 | $541 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $366 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,902 | $1,859 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,676 | $2,459 |
| Other | $2,678 | $4,866 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,266 | $463 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $41 |
| Public Welfare | $575 | $672 |
| Hospitals | $416 | $1,243 |
| Parks & Recreation | $376 | $1,571 |
| Housing | $2,713 | $3,944 |
| Utilities | $2,566 | $2,244 |
| Interest on Debt | $190 | $2,226 |
| Other | $5,120 | $3,448 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.