Murfreesboro, TN vs Chattanooga, TN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Chattanooga, TN spends 28% more per resident than Murfreesboro, TN: $24,150 against $18,812. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Chattanooga, TN holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 78/100 (grade B) against 44/100 (grade D) for Murfreesboro, TN — a 34-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Chattanooga, TN reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Murfreesboro, TN carries $2,467 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Murfreesboro, TN leads with education at $7,574 per resident, while Chattanooga, TN leads with parks and recreation at $1,596.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Murfreesboro, TN at 100% of total revenue, whereas Chattanooga, TN relies most on other revenue at 35%.
Summary
Chattanooga spends 22.1% more per capita than Murfreesboro ($5,338/person difference). Chattanooga, TN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 78/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $355 | $82 |
| Income Tax | $349 | $301 |
| Intergovernmental | $27,007 | $597 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,562 | $0 |
| Other | $40 | $13,286 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $558 | $1,061 |
| Highways & Roads | $87 | $212 |
| Education | $7,574 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $752 | $895 |
| Health | $86 | $436 |
| Hospitals | $300 | $697 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,074 | $1,596 |
| Housing | $2,655 | $4,908 |
| Sewerage | $133 | $175 |
| Utilities | $2,530 | $1,629 |
| Interest on Debt | $203 | $2,068 |
| Other | $2,861 | $10,474 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.