Wichita, KS vs Mesa, AZ
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Mesa spends 37.5% more per capita than Wichita ($4,782/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 | $0 | $47 |
| Sales Tax | $246 | $463 |
| Income Tax | $57 | $1,376 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,895 | $1,383 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,193 | $3,334 |
| Other | $2,783 | $2,253 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $152 | $422 |
| Highways & Roads | $126 | $192 |
| Education | $2 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $441 | $829 |
| Health | $254 | $147 |
| Hospitals | $113 | $537 |
| Parks & Recreation | $874 | $953 |
| Housing | $2,618 | $4,190 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $38 |
| Utilities | $1,225 | $2,376 |
| Interest on Debt | $70 | $0 |
| Other | $2,111 | $3,082 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.