Dallas, TX vs Fresno, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fresno, CA spends 24% more per resident than Dallas, TX: $43,387 against $34,849. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Dallas, TX edges Fresno, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 57/100 (grade C) to 50/100 (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. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Dallas, TX leads with police at $1,519 per resident, while Fresno, CA leads with education at $3,942.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Dallas, TX at 22% of total revenue, whereas Fresno, CA relies most on other revenue at 19%.
Summary
Fresno spends 19.7% more per capita than Dallas ($8,538/person difference). Dallas, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 57/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $9 | $337 |
| Sales Tax | $25 | $19 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $501 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,223 | -$4,470 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $11 |
| Other | $584 | $2,070 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,519 | $3,261 |
| Fire Protection | $305 | $568 |
| Highways & Roads | $201 | $0 |
| Education | $62 | $3,942 |
| Public Welfare | $215 | $1,946 |
| Health | $0 | $599 |
| Hospitals | $385 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $76 |
| Housing | $444 | $2,856 |
| Utilities | $833 | $15,340 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $255 |
| General Admin | $25,827 | $0 |
| Other | $5,059 | $14,545 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.