Kansas City, MO vs Miami, FL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Miami, FL spends 24% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $28,195 against $22,820. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Miami, 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.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. 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 Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Kansas City, MO at 835% of total revenue, whereas Miami, FL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Miami spends 19.1% more per capita than Kansas City ($5,376/person difference). Miami, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $623 | $1,647 |
| Intergovernmental | $7 | $15,037 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,794 | $0 |
| Other | $11,150 | $1,399 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $119 | $7,399 |
| Public Welfare | $3,018 | $109 |
| Hospitals | $1,849 | $1,499 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,309 | $1,783 |
| Housing | $4,681 | $6,840 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $699 |
| Utilities | $3,123 | $1,295 |
| Other | $8,721 | $8,572 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.