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

Kansas City, MO vs Jacksonville, FL

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

Reviewed by CitySpend Editorial Team · Updated

Jacksonville, FL spends 38% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $31,456 against $22,820. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Jacksonville, FL edges Kansas City, MO on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 52/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.

Kansas City, MO reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Jacksonville, FL carries $2,821 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309 per resident, while Jacksonville, FL leads with fire protection at $9,436.

They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Kansas City, MO at 835% of total revenue, whereas Jacksonville, FL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 14%.

Summary

Jacksonville spends 27.5% more per capita than Kansas City ($8,637/person difference). Jacksonville, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Kansas City, MO
Pop. 505,958
C
52/100
Budget Balance1
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency76
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
City B
Jacksonville, FL
Pop. 950,203
C
53/100
Budget Balance71
Debt Burden0
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency36
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Kansas City
Jacksonville
Total Spending
$11.5B
$29.9B
Spending / Capita
$22,820
$31,456
Total Revenue
$675.4M
$50.9B
Revenue / Capita
$1,335
$53,517
Total Debt
$0
$2.7B
Debt / Capita
$0
$2,821
Population
505,958
950,203
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Kansas City$0
Jacksonville$18
Fire Protection
Kansas City$119
Jacksonville$9,436
Parks & Recreation
Kansas City$1,309
Jacksonville$1,329
Health
Kansas City$0
Jacksonville$332

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Kansas CityJacksonville
Property Tax
$0
$10
Sales Tax
$623
$233
Income Tax
$0
$762
Intergovernmental
$7
$7,348
Charges & Fees
$3,794
$2,119
Other
$11,150
$4,705

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Kansas CityJacksonville
Police
$0
$18
Fire Protection
$119
$9,436
Public Welfare
$3,018
$486
Health
$0
$332
Hospitals
$1,849
$557
Parks & Recreation
$1,309
$1,329
Housing
$4,681
$5,572
Sewerage
$0
$176
Utilities
$3,123
$1,835
Interest on Debt
$0
$1,942
Other
$8,721
$9,771
C
Kansas City, MO
Fiscal Health Score: 52/100
Average fiscal health
C
Jacksonville, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health

Compare More Cities

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.