Houston, TX vs Austin, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Austin, TX spends 51% more per resident than Houston, TX: $21,772 against $14,400. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Houston, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 75/100 (grade B) for Austin, TX — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Houston, TX carries the lighter load at $863 per resident versus $1,229 for Austin, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Houston, TX at $361 per resident and in Austin, TX at $1,801.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Houston, TX at 7% of total revenue, whereas Austin, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 18%.
Summary
Austin spends 33.9% more per capita than Houston ($7,372/person difference). Houston, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $181 | $526 |
| Income Tax | $39 | $1,465 |
| Intergovernmental | $33 | $14,031 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,475 | $3,247 |
| Other | $3,960 | $5,645 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $295 | $634 |
| Highways & Roads | $175 | $0 |
| Education | $0 | $51 |
| Public Welfare | $533 | $1,837 |
| Health | $210 | $517 |
| Hospitals | $511 | $664 |
| Parks & Recreation | $361 | $1,801 |
| Housing | $4,288 | $3,741 |
| Sewerage | $386 | $865 |
| Utilities | $1,339 | $3,264 |
| Other | $6,301 | $8,399 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.