Independence, MO vs St. Joseph, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
St. Joseph spends 24.1% more per capita than Independence ($2,597/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1 | $30 |
| Sales Tax | $480 | $365 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $876 |
| Intergovernmental | $38,346 | $14,823 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,807 | $0 |
| Other | $3,970 | $5,785 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $39 | $489 |
| Public Welfare | $345 | $1,015 |
| Hospitals | $406 | $288 |
| Parks & Recreation | $611 | $1,000 |
| Housing | $2,769 | $2,681 |
| Utilities | $1,599 | $416 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $804 |
| Other | $2,407 | $4,079 |
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.