Plano, TX vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 44% more per resident than Plano, TX: $24,259 against $16,842. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Plano, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 61/100 (grade C) for El Paso, TX — a 14-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
El Paso, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Plano, TX carries $663 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Plano, TX leads with parks and recreation at $1,518 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Plano, TX at 20% of total revenue, whereas El Paso, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 10%.
Summary
El Paso spends 30.6% more per capita than Plano ($7,417/person difference). Plano, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $644 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $731 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,683 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,976 | $31 |
| Other | $3,004 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $125 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $319 | $83 |
| Education | $34 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $283 | $299 |
| Health | $463 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $194 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,518 | $151 |
| Housing | $3,356 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $145 | $6 |
| Utilities | $4,137 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $6,268 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.