Virginia Beach, VA vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Virginia Beach, VA outspends Kansas City, MO by a wide margin per resident — $42,515 versus $22,820, a 86% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Kansas City, MO edges Virginia Beach, VA on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 52/100 (grade C) to 47/100 (grade D). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Kansas City, MO reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Virginia Beach, VA carries $297 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Virginia Beach, VA leads with education at $21,342 per resident, while Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Virginia Beach, VA at 100% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Virginia Beach spends 86.3% more per capita than Kansas City ($19,695/person difference). Kansas City, MO has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 52/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $673 | $623 |
| Income Tax | $831 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $31,808 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,462 | $3,794 |
| Other | $3,301 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,126 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $512 | $119 |
| Education | $21,342 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,071 | $3,018 |
| Health | $426 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,036 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,574 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $2,788 | $4,681 |
| Sewerage | $140 | $0 |
| Utilities | $3,523 | $3,123 |
| Other | $7,978 | $8,721 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.