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

Jacksonville, FL vs Detroit, MI

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

Summary

Jacksonville spends 1.2% more per capita than Detroit ($369/person difference). Detroit, MI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 69/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Jacksonville, FL
Pop. 950,203
C
53/100
Budget Balance71
Debt Burden0
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency36
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Detroit, MI
Pop. 636,787
B
69/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden79
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency38
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Jacksonville
Detroit
Total Spending
$29.9B
$19.8B
Spending / Capita
$31,456
$31,087
Total Revenue
$50.9B
$28.4B
Revenue / Capita
$53,517
$44,533
Total Debt
$2.7B
$493.9M
Debt / Capita
$2,821
$776
Population
950,203
636,787
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Jacksonville$18
Detroit$0
Fire Protection
Jacksonville$9,436
Detroit$2,429
Parks & Recreation
Jacksonville$1,329
Detroit$950
Health
Jacksonville$332
Detroit$396

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleDetroit
Property Tax
$10
$44
Sales Tax
$233
$200
Income Tax
$762
$1,045
Intergovernmental
$7,348
$291
Charges & Fees
$2,119
$2,228
Other
$4,705
$6,892

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleDetroit
Police
$18
$0
Fire Protection
$9,436
$2,429
Public Welfare
$486
$833
Health
$332
$396
Hospitals
$557
$2,217
Parks & Recreation
$1,329
$950
Housing
$5,572
$5,791
Sewerage
$176
$451
Utilities
$1,835
$2,737
Interest on Debt
$1,942
$2,068
Other
$9,771
$13,216
C
Jacksonville, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
B
Detroit, MI
Fiscal Health Score: 69/100
Good 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.