El Paso, TX vs Oklahoma City, OK
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 34% more per resident than Oklahoma City, OK: $24,259 against $18,074. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oklahoma City, OK edges El Paso, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 65/100 (grade B) to 61/100 (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 Oklahoma City, OK carries $3,520 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 Oklahoma City, OK leads with parks and recreation at $2,014.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 10% of total revenue in El Paso, TX and 19% in Oklahoma City, OK.
Summary
El Paso spends 34.2% more per capita than Oklahoma City ($6,185/person difference). Oklahoma City, OK has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 65/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $65 | $763 |
| Income Tax | $12 | $1,037 |
| Intergovernmental | $690 | $6,852 |
| Charges & Fees | $31 | $3,256 |
| Other | $550 | $1,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,159 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $233 | $513 |
| Highways & Roads | $83 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $299 | $1,525 |
| Health | $0 | $5 |
| Hospitals | $11 | $2,044 |
| Parks & Recreation | $151 | $2,014 |
| Housing | $958 | $2,857 |
| Sewerage | $6 | $0 |
| Utilities | $224 | $4,523 |
| Interest on Debt | $40 | $707 |
| General Admin | $17,951 | $0 |
| Other | $3,145 | $3,886 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.