Dallas, TX vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Dallas, TX spends 44% more per resident than El Paso, TX: $34,849 against $24,259. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
El Paso, TX edges Dallas, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 61/100 (grade C) to 57/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in Dallas, TX at $1,519 per resident and in El Paso, TX at $1,159.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 22% of total revenue in Dallas, TX and 10% in El Paso, TX.
Summary
Dallas spends 43.7% more per capita than El Paso ($10,590/person difference). El Paso, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $9 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $25 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,223 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $31 |
| Other | $584 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,519 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $305 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $201 | $83 |
| Education | $62 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $215 | $299 |
| Hospitals | $385 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $151 |
| Housing | $444 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $6 |
| Utilities | $833 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $25,827 | $17,951 |
| Other | $5,059 | $3,145 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.