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

Minneapolis, MN vs Seattle, WA

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

Summary

Seattle spends 36.4% more per capita than Minneapolis ($12,553/person difference). Minneapolis, MN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 65/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Minneapolis, MN
Pop. 426,877
B
65/100
Budget Balance17
Debt Burden91
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency80
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Seattle, WA
Pop. 734,603
C
61/100
Budget Balance69
Debt Burden50
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency22
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Minneapolis
Seattle
Total Spending
$9.4B
$25.3B
Spending / Capita
$21,910
$34,463
Total Revenue
$8.2B
$56.5B
Revenue / Capita
$19,159
$76,958
Total Debt
$274.8M
$808.1M
Debt / Capita
$644
$1,100
Population
426,877
734,603
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Minneapolis$683
Seattle$210
Highways & Roads
Minneapolis$221
Seattle$0
Parks & Recreation
Minneapolis$3,486
Seattle$3,923
Education
Minneapolis$0
Seattle$1,461
Health
Minneapolis$0
Seattle$1,131

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

MinneapolisSeattle
Property Tax
$0
$1,831
Sales Tax
$1,989
$1,094
Income Tax
$994
$3,496
Intergovernmental
$2,929
$9,846
Charges & Fees
$2,040
$3,960
Other
$3,254
$8,544

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

MinneapolisSeattle
Fire Protection
$683
$210
Highways & Roads
$221
$0
Education
$0
$1,461
Public Welfare
$1,500
$3,439
Health
$0
$1,131
Hospitals
$0
$1,871
Parks & Recreation
$3,486
$3,923
Housing
$4,133
$3,727
Sewerage
$570
$952
Utilities
$2,398
$6,489
Other
$8,919
$11,260
B
Minneapolis, MN
Fiscal Health Score: 65/100
Good fiscal health
C
Seattle, WA
Fiscal Health Score: 61/100
Average 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.