Decatur, AL vs Madison, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, AL spends 51% more per resident than Decatur, AL: $26,015 against $17,185. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Decatur, AL edges Madison, AL on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 46/100 (grade D) to 44/100 (grade D). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Madison, AL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Decatur, AL carries $1,290 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Decatur, AL leads with parks and recreation at $2,612 per resident, while Madison, AL leads with fire protection at $2,129.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Decatur, AL and 100% in Madison, AL.
Summary
Madison spends 33.9% more per capita than Decatur ($8,830/person difference). Decatur, AL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (D, 46/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $855 | $73 |
| Sales Tax | $975 | $107 |
| Income Tax | $1,360 | $2,566 |
| Intergovernmental | $37,427 | $8,683 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,804 | $3,300 |
| Other | $4,387 | $4,323 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $2,061 |
| Fire Protection | $254 | $2,129 |
| Highways & Roads | $95 | $0 |
| Education | $43 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,023 | $5,542 |
| Health | $66 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,729 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,612 | $799 |
| Housing | $2,549 | $5,194 |
| Sewerage | $164 | $0 |
| Utilities | $3,362 | $3,593 |
| Other | $5,289 | $6,698 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.