Worcester, MA vs New Bedford, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
New Bedford spends 14.6% more per capita than Worcester ($7,167/person difference). Worcester, MA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 58/100).
Fiscal Health Score
C
58/100
Budget Balance36
Debt Burden95
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
D
49/100
Budget Balance5
Debt Burden89
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
Worcester
New Bedford
Total Spending
$8.6B
$5.0B
Spending / Capita
$42,049
$49,215
Total Revenue
$9.2B
$2.4B
Revenue / Capita
$45,275
$23,972
Total Debt
$93.0M
$50.9M
Debt / Capita
$456
$506
Population
204,191
100,620
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Fire Protection
Worcester$186
New Bedford$252
Highways & Roads
Worcester$163
New Bedford$886
Parks & Recreation
Worcester$461
New Bedford$315
Education
Worcester$28,887
New Bedford$31,923
Health
Worcester$349
New Bedford$255
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
WorcesterNew Bedford
| Sales Tax | $457 | $123 |
| Income Tax | $231 | $5 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,140 | $7,480 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,465 | $1,982 |
| Other | $3,233 | $4,106 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
WorcesterNew Bedford
| Fire Protection | $186 | $252 |
| Highways & Roads | $163 | $886 |
| Education | $28,887 | $31,923 |
| Public Welfare | $889 | $708 |
| Health | $349 | $255 |
| Hospitals | $534 | $610 |
| Parks & Recreation | $461 | $315 |
| Housing | $2,901 | $2,315 |
| Sewerage | $209 | $99 |
| Utilities | $1,046 | $887 |
| Other | $6,424 | $10,966 |
C
Worcester, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 58/100
Average fiscal health
D
New Bedford, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 49/100
Below average fiscal health