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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Miami, FL vs Detroit, MI

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Detroit spends 9.3% more per capita than Miami ($2,892/person difference). Detroit, MI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 69/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Miami, FL
Pop. 443,665
C
53/100
Budget Balance22
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency51
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
City B
Detroit, MI
Pop. 636,787
B
69/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden79
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency38
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Miami
Detroit
Total Spending
$12.5B
$19.8B
Spending / Capita
$28,195
$31,087
Total Revenue
$6.7B
$28.4B
Revenue / Capita
$15,037
$44,533
Total Debt
$0
$493.9M
Debt / Capita
$0
$776
Population
443,665
636,787
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Miami$7,399
Detroit$2,429
Parks & Recreation
Miami$1,783
Detroit$950
Health
Miami$0
Detroit$396

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

MiamiDetroit
Property Tax
$0
$44
Sales Tax
$1,647
$200
Income Tax
$0
$1,045
Intergovernmental
$15,037
$291
Charges & Fees
$0
$2,228
Other
$1,399
$6,892

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

MiamiDetroit
Fire Protection
$7,399
$2,429
Public Welfare
$109
$833
Health
$0
$396
Hospitals
$1,499
$2,217
Parks & Recreation
$1,783
$950
Housing
$6,840
$5,791
Sewerage
$699
$451
Utilities
$1,295
$2,737
Interest on Debt
$0
$2,068
Other
$8,572
$13,216
C
Miami, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
B
Detroit, MI
Fiscal Health Score: 69/100
Good fiscal health

Compare More Cities

The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.