Mobile, AL vs Tuscaloosa, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Mobile, AL spends 45% more per resident than Tuscaloosa, AL: $15,777 against $10,894. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Mobile, AL and Tuscaloosa, AL both land at 55/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
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 Tuscaloosa, AL leads with police at $1,260.
Summary
Mobile spends 44.8% more per capita than Tuscaloosa ($4,883/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 | $0 | $2 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,338 | $0 |
| Other | $1,479 | $791 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $537 | $1,260 |
| Fire Protection | $2,010 | $1,043 |
| Highways & Roads | $501 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,357 | $2,419 |
| Health | $0 | $540 |
| Parks & Recreation | $524 | $375 |
| Housing | $2,998 | $1,916 |
| Sewerage | $129 | $0 |
| Utilities | $791 | $88 |
| Other | $5,930 | $3,252 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.