Tuscaloosa, AL vs Mobile, AL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Mobile, AL spends 45% more per resident than Tuscaloosa, AL: $15,777 against $10,894. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Tuscaloosa, AL and Mobile, AL both land at 55/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
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: Tuscaloosa, AL leads with police at $1,260 per resident, while Mobile, AL leads with fire protection at $2,010.
Summary
Mobile spends 31.0% more per capita than Tuscaloosa ($4,883/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 | $2 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $0 | $1,338 |
| Other | $791 | $1,479 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,260 | $537 |
| Fire Protection | $1,043 | $2,010 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $501 |
| Public Welfare | $2,419 | $2,357 |
| Health | $540 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $375 | $524 |
| Housing | $1,916 | $2,998 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $129 |
| Utilities | $88 | $791 |
| Other | $3,252 | $5,930 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.