Rio Rancho, NM vs Santa Fe, NM
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Santa Fe, NM spends 36% more per resident than Rio Rancho, NM: $13,235 against $9,705. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Santa Fe, NM edges Rio Rancho, NM on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 89/100 (grade A) to 88/100 (grade A). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Santa Fe, NM reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Rio Rancho, NM carries $511 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Rio Rancho, NM leads with parks and recreation at $656 per resident, while Santa Fe, NM leads with police at $2,014.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Rio Rancho, NM at 16% of total revenue, whereas Santa Fe, NM relies most on other revenue at 11%.
Summary
Santa Fe spends 26.7% more per capita than Rio Rancho ($3,530/person difference). Santa Fe, NM has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 89/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $89 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $234 | $1,422 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,969 | $0 |
| Other | $2,308 | $2,563 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $2,014 |
| Fire Protection | $246 | $69 |
| Highways & Roads | $240 | $0 |
| Education | $131 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $757 | $611 |
| Health | $314 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $63 | $548 |
| Parks & Recreation | $656 | $386 |
| Housing | $2,453 | $1,643 |
| Sewerage | $94 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,597 | $882 |
| Interest on Debt | $8 | $0 |
| General Admin | $0 | $570 |
| Other | $3,146 | $6,513 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.