El Paso, TX vs Boston, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Boston, MA outspends El Paso, TX by a wide margin per resident — $72,299 versus $24,259, a 198% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
El Paso, TX edges Boston, MA on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 61/100 (grade C) to 56/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Boston, MA carries $445 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159 per resident, while Boston, MA leads with education at $30,742.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 10% of total revenue in El Paso, TX and 17% in Boston, MA.
Summary
Boston spends 66.4% more per capita than El Paso ($48,040/person difference). El Paso, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $65 | $78 |
| Income Tax | $12 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $690 | $5,357 |
| Charges & Fees | $31 | $2,784 |
| Other | $550 | $4,557 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,159 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $233 | $1,107 |
| Highways & Roads | $83 | $594 |
| Education | $0 | $30,742 |
| Public Welfare | $299 | $1,110 |
| Health | $0 | $725 |
| Hospitals | $11 | $2,584 |
| Parks & Recreation | $151 | $711 |
| Housing | $958 | $6,614 |
| Sewerage | $6 | $355 |
| Utilities | $224 | $3,402 |
| Interest on Debt | $40 | $0 |
| General Admin | $17,951 | $5,401 |
| Other | $3,145 | $18,955 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.