Denver, CO vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Denver, CO spends 47% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $33,582 against $22,820. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Kansas City, MO edges Denver, CO on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 52/100 (grade C) to 51/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Kansas City, MO reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Denver, CO carries $5,126 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Denver, CO at $3,319 per resident and in Kansas City, MO at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Denver, CO at 37% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Denver spends 47.2% more per capita than Kansas City ($10,762/person difference). Kansas City, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 52/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $2,070 | $623 |
| Income Tax | $236 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $44,661 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,207 | $3,794 |
| Other | $10,100 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,455 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $1,668 | $119 |
| Highways & Roads | $475 | $0 |
| Education | $821 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $764 | $3,018 |
| Health | $693 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,855 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $3,319 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $3,565 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $293 | $0 |
| Utilities | $4,292 | $3,123 |
| Interest on Debt | $7 | $0 |
| General Admin | $364 | $0 |
| Other | $12,011 | $8,721 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.