El Paso, TX vs San Antonio, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 43% more per resident than San Antonio, TX: $24,259 against $16,943. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
San Antonio, TX edges El Paso, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 68/100 (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 San Antonio, TX carries $2,131 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 San Antonio, TX leads with parks and recreation at $1,045.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 10% of total revenue in El Paso, TX and 17% in San Antonio, TX.
Summary
El Paso spends 43.2% more per capita than San Antonio ($7,316/person difference). San Antonio, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 68/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $9 |
| Sales Tax | $65 | $293 |
| Income Tax | $12 | $1,000 |
| Intergovernmental | $690 | $14,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $31 | $4,025 |
| Other | $550 | $3,184 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,159 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $233 | $396 |
| Highways & Roads | $83 | $158 |
| Education | $0 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $299 | $1,188 |
| Health | $0 | $293 |
| Hospitals | $11 | $993 |
| Parks & Recreation | $151 | $1,045 |
| Housing | $958 | $3,570 |
| Sewerage | $6 | $100 |
| Utilities | $224 | $3,826 |
| Interest on Debt | $40 | $0 |
| General Admin | $17,951 | $0 |
| Other | $3,145 | $5,352 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.