Las Vegas, NV vs Houston, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Houston, TX spends 58% more per resident than Las Vegas, NV: $14,400 against $9,085. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Houston, TX edges Las Vegas, NV on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 83/100 (grade A) to 82/100 (grade A). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Las Vegas, NV reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Houston, TX carries $863 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Las Vegas, NV at $1,028 per resident and in Houston, TX at $361.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 34% of total revenue in Las Vegas, NV and 7% in Houston, TX.
Summary
Houston spends 36.9% more per capita than Las Vegas ($5,314/person difference). Houston, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $50 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $386 | $181 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $39 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,137 | $33 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,475 |
| Other | $2,806 | $3,960 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $945 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $280 | $295 |
| Highways & Roads | $45 | $175 |
| Public Welfare | $705 | $533 |
| Health | $0 | $210 |
| Hospitals | $356 | $511 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,028 | $361 |
| Housing | $23 | $4,288 |
| Sewerage | $332 | $386 |
| Utilities | $129 | $1,339 |
| Other | $5,243 | $6,301 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.