St. Louis, MO vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Kansas City, MO spends 27% more per resident than St. Louis, MO: $22,820 against $17,927. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
St. Louis, MO holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 52/100 (grade C) for Kansas City, MO — a 23-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. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in St. Louis, MO at $1,053 per resident and in Kansas City, MO at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in St. Louis, MO at 39% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Kansas City spends 21.4% more per capita than St. Louis ($4,893/person difference). St. Louis, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $58 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $192 | $623 |
| Income Tax | $50 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,609 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $120 | $3,794 |
| Other | $4,382 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $677 | $119 |
| Highways & Roads | $772 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,793 | $3,018 |
| Hospitals | $445 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,053 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $5,667 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $436 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,457 | $3,123 |
| Other | $4,627 | $8,721 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.