Federal Way, WA vs Renton, WA

Renton, WA outspends Federal Way, WA by a wide margin per resident — $16,868 versus $7,749, a 118% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Renton, WA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 67/100 (grade B) for Federal Way, WA — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Federal Way, WA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Renton, WA carries $211 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Federal Way, WA leads with parks and recreation at $840 per resident, while Renton, WA leads with police at $2,978.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Federal Way, WA at 43% of total revenue, whereas Renton, WA relies most on other revenue at 20%.