St. Charles, MO vs St. Joseph, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
St. Charles, MO outspends St. Joseph, MO by a wide margin per resident — $20,461 versus $10,772, a 90% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
St. Joseph, MO holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 80/100 (grade A) against 53/100 (grade C) for St. Charles, MO — a 27-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 St. Joseph, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,000.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in St. Charles, MO and 100% in St. Joseph, MO.
Summary
St. Charles spends 89.9% more per capita than St. Joseph ($9,689/person difference). St. Joseph, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 80/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $30 |
| Sales Tax | $1,291 | $365 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $876 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,270 | $14,823 |
| Other | $2,994 | $5,785 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $2,304 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $1,251 | $489 |
| Highways & Roads | $614 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $4,187 | $1,015 |
| Hospitals | $1,602 | $288 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,210 | $1,000 |
| Housing | $5,745 | $2,681 |
| Sewerage | $197 | $0 |
| Utilities | $254 | $416 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $804 |
| Other | $3,097 | $4,079 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.