Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau data

Revenue Diversity Score

The Revenue Diversity Score measures how evenly each city's revenue is spread across property tax, sales tax, income tax, charges and fees, intergovernmental transfers, and utility revenue. A more diversified base is more resilient to single-source shocks. 569 cities are scored.

Related Rankings

Fiscal Health Score Total Spending Per Capita Police Spending Per Capita Fire Spending Per Capita Parks & Recreation Per Capita Debt Per Capita Education Spending Per Capita Property Tax Per Capita

Top 100 Cities by Revenue Diversity Score

#	City	Grade	Population	Revenue Diversity Score
1	New York, NY	C	8.6M	100.00
2	Houston, TX	A	2.3M	100.00
3	Philadelphia, PA	D	1.6M	100.00
4	San Antonio, TX	B	1.4M	100.00
5	Dallas, TX	C	1.3M	100.00
6	San Jose, CA	A	1.0M	100.00
7	Austin, TX	B	958K	100.00
8	Jacksonville, FL	C	950K	100.00
9	Fort Worth, TX	C	925K	100.00
10	Indianapolis city (balance), IN	B	882K	100.00
11	Charlotte, NC	C	875K	100.00
12	San Francisco, CA	D	851K	100.00
13	Seattle, WA	C	735K	100.00
14	Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN	D	684K	100.00
15	Oklahoma City, OK	B	681K	100.00
16	El Paso, TX	C	677K	100.00
17	Washington, DC	D	671K	100.00
18	Boston, MA	C	666K	100.00
19	Portland, OR	C	646K	100.00
20	Las Vegas, NV	A	645K	100.00
21	Detroit, MI	B	637K	100.00
22	Baltimore, MD	B	585K	100.00
23	Albuquerque, NM	A	563K	100.00
24	Fresno, CA	C	542K	100.00
25	Sacramento, CA	C	524K	100.00
26	Mesa, AZ	A	503K	100.00
27	Atlanta, GA	A	495K	100.00
28	Omaha, NE	A	489K	100.00
29	Colorado Springs, CO	C	480K	100.00
30	Long Beach, CA	B	462K	100.00
31	Minneapolis, MN	B	427K	100.00
32	Wichita, KS	A	396K	100.00
33	Aurora, CO	B	387K	100.00
34	New Orleans, LA	C	380K	100.00
35	Cleveland, OH	B	370K	100.00
36	Urban Honolulu, HI	D	349K	100.00
37	Anaheim, CA	B	347K	100.00
38	Stockton, CA	A	320K	100.00
39	Henderson, NV	B	318K	100.00
40	Corpus Christi, TX	B	318K	100.00
41	Riverside, CA	C	316K	100.00
42	Cincinnati, OH	A	309K	100.00
43	St. Paul, MN	C	309K	100.00
44	Orlando, FL	B	308K	100.00
45	Irvine, CA	A	305K	100.00
46	Pittsburgh, PA	B	304K	100.00
47	Greensboro, NC	C	297K	100.00
48	Anchorage, AK	C	291K	100.00
49	Plano, TX	B	285K	100.00
50	Buffalo, NY	C	277K	100.00
51	Chula Vista, CA	A	276K	100.00
52	Madison, WI	A	269K	100.00
53	Reno, NV	A	265K	100.00
54	Fort Wayne, IN	A	265K	100.00
55	North Las Vegas, NV	B	264K	100.00
56	Lubbock, TX	C	258K	100.00
57	Laredo, TX	A	255K	100.00
58	Winston-Salem, NC	A	250K	100.00
59	Glendale, AZ	A	248K	100.00
60	Garland, TX	B	244K	100.00
61	Scottsdale, AZ	A	241K	100.00
62	Norfolk, VA	D	237K	100.00
63	Arlington, VA	C	236K	100.00
64	Fremont, CA	B	229K	100.00
65	Richmond, VA	D	227K	100.00
66	Santa Clarita, CA	A	226K	100.00
67	Baton Rouge, LA	B	226K	100.00
68	Tacoma, WA	C	219K	100.00
69	Huntsville, AL	C	215K	100.00
70	Yonkers, NY	C	210K	100.00
71	Moreno Valley, CA	B	210K	100.00
72	Fontana, CA	A	209K	100.00
73	Fayetteville, NC	B	209K	100.00
74	Columbus, GA	A	205K	100.00
75	Worcester, MA	C	204K	100.00
76	Little Rock, AR	A	202K	100.00
77	Frisco, TX	B	202K	100.00
78	Salt Lake City, UT	C	201K	100.00
79	Birmingham, AL	C	200K	100.00
80	Amarillo, TX	C	200K	100.00
81	Cape Coral, FL	B	199K	100.00
82	Tallahassee, FL	C	198K	100.00
83	Overland Park, KS	A	197K	100.00
84	McKinney, TX	B	196K	100.00
85	Sioux Falls, SD	C	193K	100.00
86	Peoria, AZ	C	191K	100.00
87	Providence, RI	F	190K	100.00
88	Brownsville, TX	A	187K	100.00
89	Shreveport, LA	B	186K	100.00
90	Newport News, VA	F	185K	100.00
91	Fort Lauderdale, FL	C	183K	100.00
92	Aurora, IL	A	181K	100.00
93	Chattanooga, TN	B	181K	100.00
94	Tempe, AZ	A	181K	100.00
95	Eugene, OR	C	177K	100.00
96	Ontario, CA	C	176K	100.00
97	Elk Grove, CA	A	176K	100.00
98	Salem, OR	B	176K	100.00
99	Springfield, MO	A	169K	100.00
100	Clarksville, TN	A	168K	100.00

Showing top 100 of 569 cities

What the Numbers Show

At the top of the ranking, New York, NY posts 100.00, with Houston, TX close behind at 100.00. At the other end, Milwaukee, WI sits at 1.00. The spread between top and bottom in this metric reflects real differences in service mix, peer-group cost structure, and policy priorities, not just budget size.

Per-capita figures can be sensitive to population estimates: a city whose American Community Survey count is undercounting recent growth will look like an outlier-high spender. Where rankings rely on payroll, employee counts, or pension data, the input dataset is noted in the FAQ. Always pair a single ranking with the underlying city profile before drawing fiscal-health conclusions.

Methodology

The diversity score uses a normalized Herfindahl-style measure of revenue concentration. Cities with revenue split fairly evenly across taxes, fees, transfers, and utility income score highest; cities relying on one or two sources for the majority of revenue score lower because they are more exposed to a downturn in any single revenue line. For full methodology and weight-by-weight breakdown of the composite Fiscal Health Score, see the methodology page. Underlying datasets include the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities for the 150 largest cities, and best-practice guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the revenue diversity score ranking?

Where does the data come from?

Every figure traces back to U.S. Census Bureau primary data: the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances for spending and revenue, and the American Community Survey for population estimates used to compute per-capita ratios. Pension data, where used, comes from the Public Plans Database; federal grant flows come from USASpending.gov.

How often is the ranking updated?

The Census Bureau publishes the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances roughly 18 months after the close of the fiscal year. CitySpend rebuilds the rankings whenever new Census microdata is released, typically once a year. The current data reflects the most recent Census release available at the page-update time shown above.

Is being ranked at the top always good?

Not always. Top-ranking cities on a per-capita spending metric may simply be larger metros absorbing regional commuters or operating broader services than peers. Always read a top-ranked city in the context of its peer group, service mix, and audited financial reports.

How is this metric calculated?

The Revenue Diversity Score measures how evenly each city's revenue is spread across property tax, sales tax, income tax, charges and fees, intergovernmental transfers, and utility revenue. A more diversified base is more resilient to single-source shocks. 569 cities are scored.
, CitySpend (2026-04-06)