Fayetteville, AR vs Little Rock, AR
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Little Rock, AR spends 41% more per resident than Fayetteville, AR: $17,625 against $12,502. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Little Rock, AR holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 87/100 (grade A) against 57/100 (grade C) for Fayetteville, AR — a 30-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Little Rock, AR reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Fayetteville, AR carries $925 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Fayetteville, AR leads with health at $800 per resident, while Little Rock, AR leads with parks and recreation at $2,054.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 59% of total revenue in Fayetteville, AR and 25% in Little Rock, AR.
Summary
Little Rock spends 29.1% more per capita than Fayetteville ($5,123/person difference). Little Rock, AR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 87/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $8 | $1 |
| Sales Tax | $293 | $1,239 |
| Income Tax | $1,543 | $1,234 |
| Intergovernmental | $7,947 | $5,965 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,512 | $0 |
| Other | $3,271 | $5,700 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $423 | $521 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $55 |
| Education | $32 | $39 |
| Public Welfare | $719 | $986 |
| Health | $800 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $109 | $427 |
| Parks & Recreation | $599 | $2,054 |
| Housing | $2,095 | $3,902 |
| Sewerage | $156 | $82 |
| Utilities | $3,578 | $1,001 |
| Other | $3,991 | $8,558 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.