Wilmington, NC vs Durham, NC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Durham, NC outspends Wilmington, NC by a wide margin per resident — $31,264 versus $13,444, a 133% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Wilmington, NC holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 66/100 (grade B) for Durham, NC — a 24-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
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: Wilmington, NC leads with parks and recreation at $966 per resident, while Durham, NC leads with education at $17,100.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 9% of total revenue in Wilmington, NC and 39% in Durham, NC.
Summary
Durham spends 57.0% more per capita than Wilmington ($17,821/person difference). Wilmington, NC has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $689 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $164 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,051 | $6,775 |
| Other | $1,201 | $924 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $921 |
| Fire Protection | $305 | $682 |
| Highways & Roads | $269 | $461 |
| Education | $0 | $17,100 |
| Public Welfare | $811 | $0 |
| Health | $0 | $517 |
| Hospitals | $1,195 | $159 |
| Parks & Recreation | $966 | $0 |
| Housing | $3,380 | $1,169 |
| Sewerage | $88 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,119 | $2,350 |
| Interest on Debt | $320 | $32 |
| General Admin | $0 | $43 |
| Other | $4,991 | $7,830 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.