Plano, TX vs Houston, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Plano, TX spends 17% more per resident than Houston, TX: $16,842 against $14,400. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Houston, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 75/100 (grade B) for Plano, TX — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Plano, TX carries the lighter load at $663 per resident versus $863 for Houston, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Plano, TX at $1,518 per resident and in Houston, TX at $361.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Plano, TX at 20% of total revenue, whereas Houston, TX relies most on other revenue at 7%.
Summary
Plano spends 17.0% more per capita than Houston ($2,442/person difference). Houston, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $644 | $181 |
| Income Tax | $731 | $39 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,683 | $33 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,976 | $3,475 |
| Other | $3,004 | $3,960 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $125 | $295 |
| Highways & Roads | $319 | $175 |
| Education | $34 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $283 | $533 |
| Health | $463 | $210 |
| Hospitals | $194 | $511 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,518 | $361 |
| Housing | $3,356 | $4,288 |
| Sewerage | $145 | $386 |
| Utilities | $4,137 | $1,339 |
| Other | $6,268 | $6,301 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.