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

Jacksonville, FL vs Memphis, TN

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

Summary

Jacksonville spends 42.3% more per capita than Memphis ($9,346/person difference). Memphis, TN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 65/100).

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
Memphis, TN
Pop. 630,027
B
65/100
Budget Balance52
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency79
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Jacksonville
Memphis
Total Spending
$29.9B
$13.9B
Spending / Capita
$31,456
$22,111
Total Revenue
$50.9B
$21.5B
Revenue / Capita
$53,517
$34,065
Total Debt
$2.7B
$191.2M
Debt / Capita
$2,821
$303
Population
950,203
630,027
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Jacksonville$18
Memphis$0
Fire Protection
Jacksonville$9,436
Memphis$469
Highways & Roads
Jacksonville$0
Memphis$277
Parks & Recreation
Jacksonville$1,329
Memphis$1,397
Health
Jacksonville$332
Memphis$391

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleMemphis
Property Tax
$10
$10
Sales Tax
$233
$496
Income Tax
$762
$1,218
Intergovernmental
$7,348
$34,065
Charges & Fees
$2,119
$2,077
Other
$4,705
$3,994

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleMemphis
Police
$18
$0
Fire Protection
$9,436
$469
Highways & Roads
$0
$277
Public Welfare
$486
$630
Health
$332
$391
Hospitals
$557
$1,677
Parks & Recreation
$1,329
$1,397
Housing
$5,572
$4,683
Sewerage
$176
$0
Utilities
$1,835
$2,578
Interest on Debt
$1,942
$1,158
Other
$9,771
$8,850
C
Jacksonville, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
B
Memphis, TN
Fiscal Health Score: 65/100
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.