Madison, AL vs Decatur, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, AL spends 51% more per resident than Decatur, AL: $26,015 against $17,185. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Decatur, AL edges Madison, AL on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 46/100 (grade D) to 44/100 (grade D). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Madison, AL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Decatur, AL carries $1,290 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 Decatur, AL leads with parks and recreation at $2,612.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Madison, AL and 100% in Decatur, AL.
Summary
Madison spends 51.4% more per capita than Decatur ($8,830/person difference). Decatur, AL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (D, 46/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $73 | $855 |
| Sales Tax | $107 | $975 |
| Income Tax | $2,566 | $1,360 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,683 | $37,427 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,300 | $2,804 |
| Other | $4,323 | $4,387 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,061 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $2,129 | $254 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $95 |
| Education | $0 | $43 |
| Public Welfare | $5,542 | $1,023 |
| Health | $0 | $66 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,729 |
| Parks & Recreation | $799 | $2,612 |
| Housing | $5,194 | $2,549 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $164 |
| Utilities | $3,593 | $3,362 |
| Other | $6,698 | $5,289 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.