St. Charles, MO vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Kansas City, MO and St. Charles, MO spend within 11.5% of each other per resident — $22,820 versus $20,461 — so on the headline spending-per-capita measure the two cities are effectively neck and neck.
St. Charles, MO edges Kansas City, MO on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 52/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
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: St. Charles, MO leads with police at $2,304 per resident, while Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in St. Charles, MO at 100% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Kansas City spends 10.3% more per capita than St. Charles ($2,358/person difference). St. Charles, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $1,291 | $623 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,270 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,794 |
| Other | $2,994 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,304 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $1,251 | $119 |
| Highways & Roads | $614 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $4,187 | $3,018 |
| Hospitals | $1,602 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,210 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $5,745 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $197 | $0 |
| Utilities | $254 | $3,123 |
| Other | $3,097 | $8,721 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.