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

Dallas, TX vs Albuquerque, NM

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

Reviewed by CitySpend Editorial Team · Updated

Dallas, TX outspends Albuquerque, NM by a wide margin per resident — $34,849 versus $17,237, a 102% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Albuquerque, NM holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 81/100 (grade A) against 57/100 (grade C) for Dallas, TX — a 24-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Dallas, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Albuquerque, NM carries $613 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Dallas, TX leads with police at $1,519 per resident, while Albuquerque, NM leads with parks and recreation at $1,990.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Dallas, TX at 22% of total revenue, whereas Albuquerque, NM relies most on charges and fees at 11%.

Summary

Dallas spends 102.2% more per capita than Albuquerque ($17,612/person difference). Albuquerque, NM has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 81/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Dallas, TX
Pop. 1,300,642
C
57/100
Budget Balance16
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency21
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Albuquerque, NM
Pop. 562,551
A
81/100
Budget Balance68
Debt Burden94
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Dallas
Albuquerque
Total Spending
$45.3B
$9.7B
Spending / Capita
$34,849
$17,237
Total Revenue
$7.1B
$13.3B
Revenue / Capita
$5,474
$23,652
Total Debt
$0
$344.9M
Debt / Capita
$0
$613
Population
1,300,642
562,551
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Dallas$1,519
Albuquerque$0
Fire Protection
Dallas$305
Albuquerque$440
Highways & Roads
Dallas$201
Albuquerque$172
Parks & Recreation
Dallas$0
Albuquerque$1,990
Education
Dallas$62
Albuquerque$0
Health
Dallas$0
Albuquerque$291

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

DallasAlbuquerque
Property Tax
$9
$36
Sales Tax
$25
$355
Income Tax
$0
$1,580
Intergovernmental
$1,223
$1,897
Charges & Fees
$0
$2,633
Other
$584
$2,174

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

DallasAlbuquerque
Police
$1,519
$0
Fire Protection
$305
$440
Highways & Roads
$201
$172
Education
$62
$0
Public Welfare
$215
$419
Health
$0
$291
Hospitals
$385
$328
Parks & Recreation
$0
$1,990
Housing
$444
$4,080
Utilities
$833
$5,212
Interest on Debt
$0
$1,096
General Admin
$25,827
$0
Other
$5,059
$3,209
C
Dallas, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 57/100
Average fiscal health
A
Albuquerque, NM
Fiscal Health Score: 81/100
Excellent fiscal health

Compare More Cities

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