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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Great Falls, MT vs Missoula, MT

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Missoula spends 37.5% more per capita than Great Falls ($5,196/person difference). Missoula, MT has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 89/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Great Falls, MT
Pop. 60,373
C
54/100
Budget Balance74
Debt Burden0
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
City B
Missoula, MT
Pop. 74,627
A
89/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency90
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Great Falls
Missoula
Total Spending
$522.6M
$1.0B
Spending / Capita
$8,656
$13,853
Total Revenue
$652.9M
$1.3B
Revenue / Capita
$10,814
$17,689
Total Debt
$90.0M
$0
Debt / Capita
$1,490
$0
Population
60,373
74,627
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Great Falls$0
Missoula$2,547
Fire Protection
Great Falls$251
Missoula$353
Highways & Roads
Great Falls$0
Missoula$289
Parks & Recreation
Great Falls$1,064
Missoula$464
Education
Great Falls$0
Missoula$31
Health
Great Falls$229
Missoula$493

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Great FallsMissoula
Property Tax
$48
$8
Sales Tax
$595
$218
Income Tax
$882
$55
Intergovernmental
$10,814
$885
Charges & Fees
$2,342
$74
Other
$2,571
$2,405

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Great FallsMissoula
Police
$0
$2,547
Fire Protection
$251
$353
Highways & Roads
$0
$289
Education
$0
$31
Public Welfare
$755
$809
Health
$229
$493
Hospitals
$525
$520
Parks & Recreation
$1,064
$464
Housing
$1,988
$3,124
Sewerage
$0
$129
Utilities
$1,755
$856
Other
$2,089
$4,238
C
Great Falls, MT
Fiscal Health Score: 54/100
Average fiscal health
A
Missoula, MT
Fiscal Health Score: 89/100
Excellent fiscal health

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.