Johnson City, TN vs Chattanooga, TN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Johnson City, TN spends 23% more per resident than Chattanooga, TN: $29,659 against $24,150. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Chattanooga, TN holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 78/100 (grade B) against 23/100 (grade F) for Johnson City, TN — a 55-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Chattanooga, TN reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Johnson City, TN carries $1,609 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Johnson City, TN leads with education at $14,043 per resident, while Chattanooga, TN leads with parks and recreation at $1,596.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Johnson City, TN at 100% of total revenue, whereas Chattanooga, TN relies most on other revenue at 35%.
Summary
Johnson City spends 22.8% more per capita than Chattanooga ($5,509/person difference). Chattanooga, TN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 78/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $228 | $82 |
| Income Tax | $2,303 | $301 |
| Intergovernmental | $21,169 | $597 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,131 | $0 |
| Other | $3,770 | $13,286 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $304 | $1,061 |
| Highways & Roads | $192 | $212 |
| Education | $14,043 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,007 | $895 |
| Health | $322 | $436 |
| Hospitals | $92 | $697 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,227 | $1,596 |
| Housing | $2,442 | $4,908 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $175 |
| Utilities | $3,744 | $1,629 |
| Interest on Debt | $628 | $2,068 |
| Other | $4,657 | $10,474 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.