Mesa, AZ vs Wichita, KS
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Mesa, AZ spends 60% more per resident than Wichita, KS: $12,768 against $7,986. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Mesa, AZ and Wichita, KS both land at 90/100 (grade A and A respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
On debt, Wichita, KS carries the lighter load at $132 per resident versus $469 for Mesa, AZ. 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 Wichita, KS at $874.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Mesa, AZ at 9% of total revenue, whereas Wichita, KS relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 14%.
Summary
Mesa spends 59.9% more per capita than Wichita ($4,782/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $47 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $463 | $246 |
| Income Tax | $1,376 | $57 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,383 | $3,895 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,334 | $3,193 |
| Other | $2,253 | $2,783 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $422 | $152 |
| Highways & Roads | $192 | $126 |
| Education | $0 | $2 |
| Public Welfare | $829 | $441 |
| Health | $147 | $254 |
| Hospitals | $537 | $113 |
| Parks & Recreation | $953 | $874 |
| Housing | $4,190 | $2,618 |
| Sewerage | $38 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,376 | $1,225 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $70 |
| Other | $3,082 | $2,111 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.