Mobile, AL vs Auburn, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Mobile, AL spends 33% more per resident than Auburn, AL: $15,777 against $11,856. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Auburn, AL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 80/100 (grade A) against 55/100 (grade C) for Mobile, AL — a 25-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
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: Mobile, AL leads with fire protection at $2,010 per resident, while Auburn, AL leads with parks and recreation at $934.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Mobile, AL at 111% of total revenue, whereas Auburn, AL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Mobile spends 33.1% more per capita than Auburn ($3,922/person difference). Auburn, AL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 80/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $0 | $22 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $713 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,338 | $15,016 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $1,773 |
| Other | $1,479 | $3,814 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $537 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $2,010 | $551 |
| Highways & Roads | $501 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,357 | $1,001 |
| Health | $0 | $328 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,012 |
| Parks & Recreation | $524 | $934 |
| Housing | $2,998 | $2,229 |
| Sewerage | $129 | $182 |
| Utilities | $791 | $1,765 |
| Other | $5,930 | $3,853 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.