Greensboro, NC vs Winston-Salem, NC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Greensboro, NC spends 54% more per resident than Winston-Salem, NC: $19,352 against $12,544. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Winston-Salem, NC holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 89/100 (grade A) against 58/100 (grade C) for Greensboro, NC — a 31-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Winston-Salem, NC reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Greensboro, NC carries $1,773 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Greensboro, NC at $3,225 per resident and in Winston-Salem, NC at $801.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 12% of total revenue in Greensboro, NC and 9% in Winston-Salem, NC.
Summary
Greensboro spends 54.3% more per capita than Winston-Salem ($6,808/person difference). Winston-Salem, NC has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 89/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $2,502 | $297 |
| Income Tax | $801 | $521 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,640 | $2,560 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,498 | $2,604 |
| Other | $2,691 | $3,138 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $340 | $207 |
| Highways & Roads | $570 | $0 |
| Education | $33 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,134 | $632 |
| Health | $329 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $911 | $875 |
| Parks & Recreation | $3,225 | $801 |
| Housing | $3,186 | $3,260 |
| Sewerage | $207 | $180 |
| Utilities | $2,932 | $2,767 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,328 | $865 |
| Other | $5,155 | $2,959 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.