Mesa, AZ vs Fort Worth, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fort Worth, TX spends 25% more per resident than Mesa, AZ: $15,939 against $12,768. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Mesa, AZ holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 63/100 (grade C) for Fort Worth, TX — a 27-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Mesa, AZ carries the lighter load at $469 per resident versus $1,921 for Fort Worth, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Mesa, AZ at $953 per resident and in Fort Worth, TX at $708.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Mesa, AZ at 9% of total revenue, whereas Fort Worth, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 15%.
Summary
Fort Worth spends 19.9% more per capita than Mesa ($3,171/person difference). Mesa, AZ has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $47 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $463 | $198 |
| Income Tax | $1,376 | $851 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,383 | $4,002 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,334 | $3,594 |
| Other | $2,253 | $3,439 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $422 | $156 |
| Highways & Roads | $192 | $317 |
| Public Welfare | $829 | $869 |
| Health | $147 | $235 |
| Hospitals | $537 | $1,680 |
| Parks & Recreation | $953 | $708 |
| Housing | $4,190 | $4,217 |
| Sewerage | $38 | $267 |
| Utilities | $2,376 | $2,674 |
| Other | $3,082 | $4,817 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.