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

Jacksonville, FL vs Mesa, AZ

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

Summary

Jacksonville spends 146.4% more per capita than Mesa ($18,688/person difference). Mesa, AZ has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).

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
Mesa, AZ
Pop. 503,390
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Jacksonville
Mesa
Total Spending
$29.9B
$6.4B
Spending / Capita
$31,456
$12,768
Total Revenue
$50.9B
$18.0B
Revenue / Capita
$53,517
$35,688
Total Debt
$2.7B
$236.3M
Debt / Capita
$2,821
$469
Population
950,203
503,390
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Jacksonville$18
Mesa$0
Fire Protection
Jacksonville$9,436
Mesa$422
Highways & Roads
Jacksonville$0
Mesa$192
Parks & Recreation
Jacksonville$1,329
Mesa$953
Health
Jacksonville$332
Mesa$147

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleMesa
Property Tax
$10
$47
Sales Tax
$233
$463
Income Tax
$762
$1,376
Intergovernmental
$7,348
$1,383
Charges & Fees
$2,119
$3,334
Other
$4,705
$2,253

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

JacksonvilleMesa
Police
$18
$0
Fire Protection
$9,436
$422
Highways & Roads
$0
$192
Public Welfare
$486
$829
Health
$332
$147
Hospitals
$557
$537
Parks & Recreation
$1,329
$953
Housing
$5,572
$4,190
Sewerage
$176
$38
Utilities
$1,835
$2,376
Interest on Debt
$1,942
$0
Other
$9,771
$3,082
C
Jacksonville, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
A
Mesa, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent 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.