Lubbock, TX vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Lubbock, TX spends 35% more per resident than El Paso, TX: $32,743 against $24,259. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
El Paso, TX edges Lubbock, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 61/100 (grade C) to 56/100 (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. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in Lubbock, TX at $322 per resident and in El Paso, TX at $1,159.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Lubbock, TX at 25% of total revenue, whereas El Paso, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 10%.
Summary
Lubbock spends 35.0% more per capita than El Paso ($8,484/person difference). El Paso, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $2 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $76 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $31 |
| Other | $781 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $322 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $173 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $296 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $258 | $299 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $13 | $151 |
| Housing | $2,128 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $6 |
| Utilities | $45 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $26,777 | $17,951 |
| Other | $2,732 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.