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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Detroit, MI vs New York, NY

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

New York spends 75.9% more per capita than Detroit ($98,032/person difference). Detroit, MI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 69/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Detroit, MI
Pop. 636,787
B
69/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden79
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency38
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
New York, NY
Pop. 8,622,467
C
64/100
Budget Balance55
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Detroit
New York
Total Spending
$19.8B
$1113.3B
Spending / Capita
$31,087
$129,119
Total Revenue
$28.4B
$1271.6B
Revenue / Capita
$44,533
$147,477
Total Debt
$493.9M
$4.0B
Debt / Capita
$776
$462
Population
636,787
8,622,467
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Detroit$0
New York$1,512
Fire Protection
Detroit$2,429
New York$11,050
Highways & Roads
Detroit$0
New York$221
Parks & Recreation
Detroit$950
New York$868
Education
Detroit$0
New York$37,892
Health
Detroit$396
New York$417

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

DetroitNew York
Property Tax
$44
$5
Sales Tax
$200
$399
Income Tax
$1,045
$19
Intergovernmental
$291
$20,520
Charges & Fees
$2,228
$1,835
Other
$6,892
$3,593

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

DetroitNew York
Police
$0
$1,512
Fire Protection
$2,429
$11,050
Highways & Roads
$0
$221
Education
$0
$37,892
Public Welfare
$833
$1,116
Health
$396
$417
Hospitals
$2,217
$6,467
Parks & Recreation
$950
$868
Housing
$5,791
$7,137
Sewerage
$451
$315
Utilities
$2,737
$13,371
Interest on Debt
$2,068
$11,706
General Admin
$0
$11,668
Other
$13,216
$25,380
B
Detroit, MI
Fiscal Health Score: 69/100
Good fiscal health
C
New York, NY
Fiscal Health Score: 64/100
Average fiscal health

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