Rochester, NY vs Albany, NY
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Rochester, NY outspends Albany, NY by a wide margin per resident — $75,154 versus $46,595, a 61% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Albany, NY holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 63/100 (grade C) against 47/100 (grade D) for Rochester, NY — a 16-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Rochester, NY leads with education at $42,739 per resident, while Albany, NY leads with police at $3,815.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Rochester, NY at 54% of total revenue, whereas Albany, NY relies most on other revenue at 22%.
Summary
Rochester spends 61.3% more per capita than Albany ($28,559/person difference). Albany, NY has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $511 | $1,242 |
| Income Tax | $1,427 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,814 | $3,947 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,993 | $0 |
| Other | $825 | $6,604 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,815 |
| Fire Protection | $293 | $558 |
| Highways & Roads | $379 | $391 |
| Education | $42,739 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $140 | $1,363 |
| Health | $753 | $91 |
| Hospitals | $764 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $910 | $663 |
| Housing | $5,169 | $2,042 |
| Sewerage | $547 | $0 |
| Utilities | $5,082 | $13,046 |
| Interest on Debt | $215 | $88 |
| Other | $18,162 | $24,538 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.