New Bedford, MA vs Worcester, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
New Bedford spends 17.0% more per capita than Worcester ($7,167/person difference). Worcester, MA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 58/100).
Fiscal Health Score
D
49/100
Budget Balance5
Debt Burden89
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
C
58/100
Budget Balance36
Debt Burden95
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
New Bedford
Worcester
Total Spending
$5.0B
$8.6B
Spending / Capita
$49,215
$42,049
Total Revenue
$2.4B
$9.2B
Revenue / Capita
$23,972
$45,275
Total Debt
$50.9M
$93.0M
Debt / Capita
$506
$456
Population
100,620
204,191
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Fire Protection
New Bedford$252
Worcester$186
Highways & Roads
New Bedford$886
Worcester$163
Parks & Recreation
New Bedford$315
Worcester$461
Education
New Bedford$31,923
Worcester$28,887
Health
New Bedford$255
Worcester$349
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
New BedfordWorcester
| Sales Tax | $123 | $457 |
| Income Tax | $5 | $231 |
| Intergovernmental | $7,480 | $4,140 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,982 | $1,465 |
| Other | $4,106 | $3,233 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
New BedfordWorcester
| Fire Protection | $252 | $186 |
| Highways & Roads | $886 | $163 |
| Education | $31,923 | $28,887 |
| Public Welfare | $708 | $889 |
| Health | $255 | $349 |
| Hospitals | $610 | $534 |
| Parks & Recreation | $315 | $461 |
| Housing | $2,315 | $2,901 |
| Sewerage | $99 | $209 |
| Utilities | $887 | $1,046 |
| Other | $10,966 | $6,424 |
D
New Bedford, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 49/100
Below average fiscal health
C
Worcester, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 58/100
Average fiscal health