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

Elgin, IL vs Champaign, IL

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

Summary

Champaign spends 6.2% more per capita than Elgin ($943/person difference). Elgin, IL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 58/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Elgin, IL
Pop. 114,190
C
58/100
Budget Balance20
Debt Burden76
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency96
Revenue Diversity34
Trend Direction50
City B
Champaign, IL
Pop. 88,628
C
55/100
Budget Balance9
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency82
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Elgin
Champaign
Total Spending
$1.6B
$1.3B
Spending / Capita
$14,229
$15,173
Total Revenue
$603.5M
$146.9M
Revenue / Capita
$5,285
$1,657
Total Debt
$70.4M
$0
Debt / Capita
$617
$0
Population
114,190
88,628
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Elgin$0
Champaign$1,426
Fire Protection
Elgin$222
Champaign$488
Highways & Roads
Elgin$116
Champaign$231
Parks & Recreation
Elgin$1,641
Champaign$0
Education
Elgin$53
Champaign$0

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

ElginChampaign
Sales Tax
$754
$0
Income Tax
$651
$0
Intergovernmental
$1,170
$4,573
Charges & Fees
$2,267
$0
Other
$1,754
$1,152

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

ElginChampaign
Police
$0
$1,426
Fire Protection
$222
$488
Highways & Roads
$116
$231
Education
$53
$0
Public Welfare
$718
$465
Parks & Recreation
$1,641
$0
Housing
$4,472
$895
Utilities
$2,850
$5
Other
$4,159
$11,663
C
Elgin, IL
Fiscal Health Score: 58/100
Average fiscal health
C
Champaign, IL
Fiscal Health Score: 55/100
Average fiscal health

Compare More Cities

The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.