Fort Worth, TX vs Austin, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Austin, TX spends 37% more per resident than Fort Worth, TX: $21,772 against $15,939. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Austin, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 63/100 (grade C) for Fort Worth, TX — a 12-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Austin, TX carries the lighter load at $1,229 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 Austin, TX at $1,801.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 15% of total revenue in Fort Worth, TX and 18% in Austin, TX.
Summary
Austin spends 26.8% more per capita than Fort Worth ($5,833/person difference). Austin, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $198 | $526 |
| Income Tax | $851 | $1,465 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,002 | $14,031 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,594 | $3,247 |
| Other | $3,439 | $5,645 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $156 | $634 |
| Highways & Roads | $317 | $0 |
| Education | $0 | $51 |
| Public Welfare | $869 | $1,837 |
| Health | $235 | $517 |
| Hospitals | $1,680 | $664 |
| Parks & Recreation | $708 | $1,801 |
| Housing | $4,217 | $3,741 |
| Sewerage | $267 | $865 |
| Utilities | $2,674 | $3,264 |
| Other | $4,817 | $8,399 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.