Oklahoma City, OK vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 34% more per resident than Oklahoma City, OK: $24,259 against $18,074. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oklahoma City, OK edges El Paso, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 65/100 (grade B) to 61/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Oklahoma City, OK carries $3,520 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Oklahoma City, OK leads with parks and recreation at $2,014 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Oklahoma City, OK and 10% in El Paso, TX.
Summary
El Paso spends 25.5% more per capita than Oklahoma City ($6,185/person difference). Oklahoma City, OK has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 65/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $763 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $1,037 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,852 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,256 | $31 |
| Other | $1,836 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $513 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $1,525 | $299 |
| Health | $5 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,044 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,014 | $151 |
| Housing | $2,857 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $6 |
| Utilities | $4,523 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $707 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $3,886 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.