El Paso, TX vs Sacramento, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Sacramento, CA outspends El Paso, TX by a wide margin per resident — $71,020 versus $24,259, a 193% 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 Sacramento, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 61/100 (grade C) to 57/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in El Paso, TX at $1,159 per resident and in Sacramento, CA at $5,402.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in El Paso, TX at 10% of total revenue, whereas Sacramento, CA relies most on other revenue at 8%.
Summary
Sacramento spends 65.8% more per capita than El Paso ($46,761/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)
| Property Tax | $0 | $1,465 |
| Sales Tax | $65 | $378 |
| Income Tax | $12 | $3,104 |
| Intergovernmental | $690 | $3,400 |
| Charges & Fees | $31 | $3,239 |
| Other | $550 | $5,072 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,159 | $5,402 |
| Fire Protection | $233 | $2,466 |
| Highways & Roads | $83 | $0 |
| Education | $0 | $2,684 |
| Public Welfare | $299 | $3,470 |
| Health | $0 | $18 |
| Hospitals | $11 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $151 | $1,437 |
| Housing | $958 | $8,577 |
| Sewerage | $6 | $103 |
| Utilities | $224 | $19,920 |
| Interest on Debt | $40 | $162 |
| General Admin | $17,951 | $0 |
| Other | $3,145 | $26,782 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.