Detroit, MI vs Arlington, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Detroit spends 164.1% more per capita than Arlington ($19,318/person difference). Arlington, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $44 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $200 | $507 |
| Income Tax | $1,045 | $73 |
| Intergovernmental | $291 | $25,062 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,228 | $2,949 |
| Other | $6,892 | $3,897 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $2,429 | $160 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $149 |
| Public Welfare | $833 | $826 |
| Health | $396 | $219 |
| Hospitals | $2,217 | $152 |
| Parks & Recreation | $950 | $1,352 |
| Housing | $5,791 | $2,981 |
| Sewerage | $451 | $141 |
| Utilities | $2,737 | $1,385 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,068 | $0 |
| Other | $13,216 | $4,404 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.