Schenectady, NY vs Buffalo, NY
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Buffalo, NY spends 36% more per resident than Schenectady, NY: $60,354 against $44,459. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Buffalo, NY holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 57/100 (grade C) against 47/100 (grade D) for Schenectady, NY — a 10-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: Schenectady, NY leads with police at $2,839 per resident, while Buffalo, NY leads with education at $39,263.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Schenectady, NY at 100% of total revenue, whereas Buffalo, NY relies most on other revenue at 22%.
Summary
Buffalo spends 26.3% more per capita than Schenectady ($15,895/person difference). Buffalo, NY has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 57/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $64 | $252 |
| Income Tax | $26 | $898 |
| Intergovernmental | $12,933 | $840 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $1,679 |
| Other | $4,840 | $2,952 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,839 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $406 | $306 |
| Highways & Roads | $440 | $432 |
| Education | $0 | $39,263 |
| Public Welfare | $1,436 | $1,112 |
| Health | $899 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $34 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $122 | $410 |
| Housing | $778 | $3,491 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $189 |
| Utilities | $9,610 | $3,425 |
| Interest on Debt | $47 | $0 |
| Other | $27,849 | $11,726 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.