Fayetteville, AR vs Bentonville, AR
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Bentonville, AR spends 16% more per resident than Fayetteville, AR: $14,446 against $12,502. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Bentonville, AR holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 73/100 (grade B) against 57/100 (grade C) for Fayetteville, AR — a 16-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Bentonville, AR carries the lighter load at $246 per resident versus $925 for Fayetteville, AR. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Fayetteville, AR leads with health at $800 per resident, while Bentonville, AR leads with parks and recreation at $1,751.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Fayetteville, AR at 59% of total revenue, whereas Bentonville, AR relies most on other revenue at 20%.
Summary
Bentonville spends 13.5% more per capita than Fayetteville ($1,943/person difference). Bentonville, AR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 73/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $8 | $10 |
| Sales Tax | $293 | $752 |
| Income Tax | $1,543 | $1,252 |
| Intergovernmental | $7,947 | $2,248 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,512 | $2,597 |
| Other | $3,271 | $3,321 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $423 | $226 |
| Education | $32 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $719 | $890 |
| Health | $800 | $352 |
| Hospitals | $109 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $599 | $1,751 |
| Housing | $2,095 | $2,628 |
| Sewerage | $156 | $177 |
| Utilities | $3,578 | $3,488 |
| Other | $3,991 | $4,935 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.