Tulsa, OK vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX outspends Tulsa, OK by a wide margin per resident — $24,259 versus $5,250, a 362% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
El Paso, TX edges Tulsa, OK on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 61/100 (grade C) to 56/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
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: Tulsa, OK leads with health at $762 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
Summary
El Paso spends 78.4% more per capita than Tulsa ($19,009/person difference). El Paso, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 61/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $97 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $0 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $31 |
| Other | $53 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $628 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $196 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $257 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $86 | $299 |
| Health | $762 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $154 | $151 |
| Housing | $350 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $27 | $6 |
| Utilities | $41 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $2,748 | $3,145 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.