Fort Worth, TX vs Arlington, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fort Worth, TX spends 35% more per resident than Arlington, TX: $15,939 against $11,769. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Arlington, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 63/100 (grade C) for Fort Worth, TX — a 20-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Arlington, TX carries the lighter load at $594 per resident versus $1,921 for Fort Worth, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Fort Worth, TX at $708 per resident and in Arlington, TX at $1,352.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 15% of total revenue in Fort Worth, TX and 41% in Arlington, TX.
Summary
Fort Worth spends 35.4% more per capita than Arlington ($4,170/person difference). Arlington, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $198 | $507 |
| Income Tax | $851 | $73 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,002 | $25,062 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,594 | $2,949 |
| Other | $3,439 | $3,897 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $156 | $160 |
| Highways & Roads | $317 | $149 |
| Public Welfare | $869 | $826 |
| Health | $235 | $219 |
| Hospitals | $1,680 | $152 |
| Parks & Recreation | $708 | $1,352 |
| Housing | $4,217 | $2,981 |
| Sewerage | $267 | $141 |
| Utilities | $2,674 | $1,385 |
| Other | $4,817 | $4,404 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.