Tacoma, WA vs Seattle, WA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Seattle, WA spends 44% more per resident than Tacoma, WA: $34,463 against $23,896. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Tacoma, WA and Seattle, WA both land at 61/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
On debt, Seattle, WA carries the lighter load at $1,100 per resident versus $1,835 for Tacoma, WA. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Tacoma, WA leads with education at $1,396 per resident, while Seattle, WA leads with parks and recreation at $3,923.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 20% of total revenue in Tacoma, WA and 13% in Seattle, WA.
Summary
Seattle spends 30.7% more per capita than Tacoma ($10,567/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $131 | $1,831 |
| Sales Tax | $789 | $1,094 |
| Income Tax | $3,984 | $3,496 |
| Intergovernmental | $17,186 | $9,846 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,236 | $3,960 |
| Other | $6,696 | $8,544 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,153 | $210 |
| Education | $1,396 | $1,461 |
| Public Welfare | $1,807 | $3,439 |
| Health | $283 | $1,131 |
| Hospitals | $396 | $1,871 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,048 | $3,923 |
| Housing | $4,805 | $3,727 |
| Sewerage | $798 | $952 |
| Utilities | $5,418 | $6,489 |
| Other | $6,793 | $11,260 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.