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

Columbus, GA vs Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA

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

Summary

Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance) spends 18.9% more per capita than Columbus ($3,621/person difference). Columbus, GA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 82/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Columbus, GA
Pop. 204,572
A
82/100
Budget Balance76
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency88
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Budget Balance87
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency67
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Columbus
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)
Total Spending
$3.2B
$3.9B
Spending / Capita
$15,522
$19,144
Total Revenue
$4.4B
$5.6B
Revenue / Capita
$21,716
$27,728
Total Debt
$7.6M
$0
Debt / Capita
$37
$0
Population
204,572
201,615
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Columbus$1,611
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$1,167
Fire Protection
Columbus$699
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$940
Highways & Roads
Columbus$443
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$265
Parks & Recreation
Columbus$669
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$911
Education
Columbus$21
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$35
Health
Columbus$0
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)$130

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

ColumbusAugusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)
Property Tax
$64
$2
Sales Tax
$315
$309
Income Tax
$688
$1,856
Intergovernmental
$792
$27,728
Charges & Fees
$2,259
$1,561
Other
$3,202
$5,118

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

ColumbusAugusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance)
Police
$1,611
$1,167
Fire Protection
$699
$940
Highways & Roads
$443
$265
Education
$21
$35
Public Welfare
$1,247
$1,012
Health
$0
$130
Hospitals
$170
$878
Parks & Recreation
$669
$911
Housing
$2,701
$2,672
Sewerage
$66
$131
Utilities
$1,989
$4,264
Other
$5,907
$6,738
A
Columbus, GA
Fiscal Health Score: 82/100
Excellent fiscal health
B
Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government (balance), GA
Fiscal Health Score: 72/100
Good fiscal health

Compare More Cities

The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.