San Antonio, TX vs Houston, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Antonio, TX spends 18% more per resident than Houston, TX: $16,943 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 68/100 (grade B) for San Antonio, TX — a 15-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Houston, TX carries the lighter load at $863 per resident versus $2,131 for San Antonio, TX. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in San Antonio, TX at $1,045 per resident and in Houston, TX at $361.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in San Antonio, TX at 17% of total revenue, whereas Houston, TX relies most on other revenue at 7%.
Summary
San Antonio spends 17.7% more per capita than Houston ($2,543/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)
| Property Tax | $9 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $293 | $181 |
| Income Tax | $1,000 | $39 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,312 | $33 |
| Charges & Fees | $4,025 | $3,475 |
| Other | $3,184 | $3,960 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $396 | $295 |
| Highways & Roads | $158 | $175 |
| Education | $23 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,188 | $533 |
| Health | $293 | $210 |
| Hospitals | $993 | $511 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,045 | $361 |
| Housing | $3,570 | $4,288 |
| Sewerage | $100 | $386 |
| Utilities | $3,826 | $1,339 |
| Other | $5,352 | $6,301 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.