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

Surprise, AZ vs Scottsdale, AZ

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

Summary

Surprise spends 67221.5% 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
Surprise, AZ
Pop. 145,591
C
59/100
Budget Balance18
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency94
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
City B
Scottsdale, AZ
Pop. 240,537
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

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

Per Capita Spending by Department

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

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

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

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

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

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