Tulsa, OK vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Kansas City, MO outspends Tulsa, OK by a wide margin per resident — $22,820 versus $5,250, a 335% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Tulsa, OK edges Kansas City, MO on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 56/100 (grade C) to 52/100 (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 Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309.
Summary
Kansas City spends 77.0% more per capita than Tulsa ($17,570/person difference). Tulsa, OK has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 56/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $97 | $623 |
| Intergovernmental | $0 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,794 |
| Other | $53 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $628 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $196 | $119 |
| Highways & Roads | $257 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $86 | $3,018 |
| Health | $762 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $154 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $350 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $27 | $0 |
| Utilities | $41 | $3,123 |
| Other | $2,748 | $8,721 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.