Raleigh, NC vs Arlington, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Raleigh, NC spends 18% more per resident than Arlington, TX: $13,911 against $11,769. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Arlington, TX edges Raleigh, NC on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 83/100 (grade A) to 76/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Arlington, TX carries the lighter load at $594 per resident versus $906 for Raleigh, NC. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Raleigh, NC at $1,391 per resident and in Arlington, TX at $1,352.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 47% of total revenue in Raleigh, NC and 41% in Arlington, TX.
Summary
Raleigh spends 18.2% more per capita than Arlington ($2,142/person difference). Arlington, 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 | $858 | $507 |
| Income Tax | $806 | $73 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,128 | $25,062 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,681 | $2,949 |
| Other | $4,740 | $3,897 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $277 | $160 |
| Highways & Roads | $448 | $149 |
| Education | $6 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $498 | $826 |
| Health | $0 | $219 |
| Hospitals | $669 | $152 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,391 | $1,352 |
| Housing | $2,712 | $2,981 |
| Sewerage | $281 | $141 |
| Utilities | $2,469 | $1,385 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,513 | $0 |
| Other | $3,646 | $4,404 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.