Miami, FL vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Miami, FL spends 24% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $28,195 against $22,820. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Miami, FL edges Kansas City, MO on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 52/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399 per resident, while Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Miami, FL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Miami spends 23.6% more per capita than Kansas City ($5,376/person difference). Miami, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $1,647 | $623 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,037 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,794 |
| Other | $1,399 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $7,399 | $119 |
| Public Welfare | $109 | $3,018 |
| Hospitals | $1,499 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,783 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $6,840 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $699 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,295 | $3,123 |
| Other | $8,572 | $8,721 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.