Mesa, AZ vs San Antonio, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Antonio, TX spends 33% more per resident than Mesa, AZ: $16,943 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 68/100 (grade B) for San Antonio, TX — a 22-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Mesa, AZ carries the lighter load at $469 per resident versus $2,131 for San Antonio, 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 San Antonio, TX at $1,045.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Mesa, AZ at 9% of total revenue, whereas San Antonio, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 17%.
Summary
San Antonio spends 24.6% more per capita than Mesa ($4,175/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 | $9 |
| Sales Tax | $463 | $293 |
| Income Tax | $1,376 | $1,000 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,383 | $14,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,334 | $4,025 |
| Other | $2,253 | $3,184 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $422 | $396 |
| Highways & Roads | $192 | $158 |
| Education | $0 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $829 | $1,188 |
| Health | $147 | $293 |
| Hospitals | $537 | $993 |
| Parks & Recreation | $953 | $1,045 |
| Housing | $4,190 | $3,570 |
| Sewerage | $38 | $100 |
| Utilities | $2,376 | $3,826 |
| Other | $3,082 | $5,352 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.