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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Scottsdale, AZ vs Surprise, AZ

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Surprise spends 99.9% more per capita than Scottsdale ($14,415/person difference). Scottsdale, AZ has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Scottsdale, AZ
Pop. 240,537
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Surprise, AZ
Pop. 145,591
C
59/100
Budget Balance18
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency94
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Scottsdale
Surprise
Total Spending
$5.2M
$2.1B
Spending / Capita
$21
$14,436
Total Revenue
$8.9M
$502.8M
Revenue / Capita
$37
$3,454
Total Debt
$512K
$45.0M
Debt / Capita
$2
$309
Population
240,537
145,591
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Scottsdale$0
Surprise$870
Parks & Recreation
Scottsdale$2
Surprise$2,032
Health
Scottsdale$0
Surprise$0

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

ScottsdaleSurprise
Sales Tax
$1
$100
Income Tax
$1
$673
Intergovernmental
$4
$3,454
Charges & Fees
$5
$1,036
Other
$4
$2,972

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

ScottsdaleSurprise
Fire Protection
$0
$870
Public Welfare
$1
$2,361
Health
$0
$0
Hospitals
$0
$1,200
Parks & Recreation
$2
$2,032
Housing
$5
$2,769
Sewerage
$0
$0
Utilities
$4
$1,764
Interest on Debt
$0
$38
Other
$8
$3,403
A
Scottsdale, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
C
Surprise, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 59/100
Average fiscal health

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