St. Charles, MO vs Springfield, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
St. Charles, MO spends 30% more per resident than Springfield, MO: $20,461 against $15,703. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Springfield, MO holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 82/100 (grade A) against 53/100 (grade C) for St. Charles, MO — a 29-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: St. Charles, MO leads with police at $2,304 per resident, while Springfield, MO leads with parks and recreation at $2,552.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in St. Charles, MO at 100% of total revenue, whereas Springfield, MO relies most on other revenue at 11%.
Summary
St. Charles spends 30.3% more per capita than Springfield ($4,758/person difference). Springfield, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 82/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $1,291 | $827 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $822 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,270 | $1,035 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,451 |
| Other | $2,994 | $4,051 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,304 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $1,251 | $68 |
| Highways & Roads | $614 | $487 |
| Education | $0 | $1,123 |
| Public Welfare | $4,187 | $932 |
| Hospitals | $1,602 | $311 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,210 | $2,552 |
| Housing | $5,745 | $2,768 |
| Sewerage | $197 | $206 |
| Utilities | $254 | $2,850 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $805 |
| Other | $3,097 | $3,601 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.