Madison, AL vs Birmingham, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Birmingham, AL spends 18% more per resident than Madison, AL: $30,790 against $26,015. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Birmingham, AL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 55/100 (grade C) against 44/100 (grade D) for Madison, AL — a 11-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Madison, AL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Birmingham, AL carries $2,823 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Madison, AL leads with fire protection at $2,129 per resident, while Birmingham, AL leads with parks and recreation at $1,823.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Madison, AL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Birmingham, AL relies most on charges and fees at 13%.
Summary
Birmingham spends 15.5% more per capita than Madison ($4,775/person difference). Birmingham, AL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 55/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $73 | $44 |
| Sales Tax | $107 | $281 |
| Income Tax | $2,566 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,683 | $468 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,300 | $10,460 |
| Other | $4,323 | $734 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,061 | $22 |
| Fire Protection | $2,129 | $1,152 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $848 |
| Public Welfare | $5,542 | $2,110 |
| Health | $0 | $683 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,505 |
| Parks & Recreation | $799 | $1,823 |
| Housing | $5,194 | $5,487 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $594 |
| Utilities | $3,593 | $5,451 |
| Other | $6,698 | $11,115 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.