Cranston, RI vs Providence, RI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Providence spends 17.1% more per capita than Cranston ($8,581/person difference). Cranston, RI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (D, 47/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $12 |
| Sales Tax | $85 | $97 |
| Intergovernmental | $12,769 | $695 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $4,981 |
| Other | $4,701 | $5,833 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $866 | $455 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $605 |
| Education | $26,714 | $29,047 |
| Public Welfare | $2,195 | $375 |
| Health | $507 | $219 |
| Hospitals | $236 | $769 |
| Parks & Recreation | $475 | $653 |
| Housing | $4,165 | $5,495 |
| Sewerage | $152 | $204 |
| Utilities | $0 | $3,615 |
| Other | $6,233 | $8,688 |
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.