Gary, IN vs Indianapolis city (balance), IN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Indianapolis city (balance) spends 52.6% more per capita than Gary ($24,220/person difference). Indianapolis city (balance), IN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 74/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $20 |
| Sales Tax | $46 | $178 |
| Income Tax | $64 | $136 |
| Intergovernmental | $30,129 | $1,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $2,813 |
| Other | $10,510 | $4,675 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $2,032 |
| Fire Protection | $231 | $397 |
| Highways & Roads | $210 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $886 | $1,469 |
| Hospitals | $721 | $2,453 |
| Parks & Recreation | $358 | $798 |
| Housing | $2,936 | $2,664 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $248 |
| Utilities | $113 | $2,227 |
| Interest on Debt | $846 | $1,381 |
| General Admin | $0 | $23,227 |
| Other | $15,525 | $9,149 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.