Gary, IN vs South Bend, IN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
South Bend spends 38.9% more per capita than Gary ($13,894/person difference). Gary, IN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 71/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $10 |
| Sales Tax | $46 | $759 |
| Income Tax | $64 | $955 |
| Intergovernmental | $30,129 | $18,281 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $2,775 |
| Other | $10,510 | $6,625 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $231 | $2,100 |
| Highways & Roads | $210 | $2 |
| Public Welfare | $886 | $1,509 |
| Hospitals | $721 | $800 |
| Parks & Recreation | $358 | $1,973 |
| Housing | $2,936 | $2,520 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $348 |
| Utilities | $113 | $1,910 |
| Interest on Debt | $846 | $1,088 |
| Other | $15,525 | $23,468 |
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.