Grand Rapids, MI vs Ann Arbor, MI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Grand Rapids spends 0.6% more per capita than Ann Arbor ($140/person difference). Ann Arbor, MI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (D, 46/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $167 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $1,089 | $452 |
| Income Tax | $429 | $378 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,397 | $3,670 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,769 | $2,961 |
| Other | $5,091 | $4,076 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,930 | $1,572 |
| Education | $133 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $366 | $1,621 |
| Health | $711 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,409 | $2,532 |
| Parks & Recreation | $882 | $1,799 |
| Housing | $3,014 | $2,662 |
| Sewerage | $252 | $511 |
| Utilities | $2,755 | $2,610 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,056 |
| Other | $9,692 | $7,644 |
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.