Fayetteville, NC vs Cary, NC

Cary, NC and Fayetteville, NC spend within 14.3% of each other per resident — $16,057 versus $14,049 — so on the headline spending-per-capita measure the two cities are effectively neck and neck.

On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Fayetteville, NC and Cary, NC both land at 70/100 (grade B and B respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.

On debt, Cary, NC carries the lighter load at $582 per resident versus $1,749 for Fayetteville, NC. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Fayetteville, NC at $1,062 per resident and in Cary, NC at $1,581.

They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Fayetteville, NC at 9% of total revenue, whereas Cary, NC relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.