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Compare places, side by side

Two lenses on the same set of places. Capacity readings are construct-based judgments — a band with its confidence and the evidence behind it, never ranked into a single winner. Structural facts are the comparable hard numbers, with percentiles. Add any number of places to begin.

Add a place, then add its cohort:
Add one or more places above to compare their capacity readings and structural facts. Tip: open a place from the diagnostic and use “compare” to seed this with its structural peers — or expand the full ranking below.
▸Rank all places on a single ratio

Sort and filter every city and county on any structural ratio. Ranking observable ratios is fair game — only the latent capacity readings above are never ranked into one number.

Sort byFilter71 of 71
Focus
RankPlaceBudget / capita↓Budget / sq miFTE / 1k residentsTotal budgetPopulationDepartmentsInnovation markers
#1
Government of the District of ColumbiaDC · consolidated
$29,494$308.8M50.6$21.0B712,000606 / 7
#2
City and County of San FranciscoCA · consolidated
$17,284$297.9M43.2$14.0B810,000506 / 7
#3
City of New YorkNY · consolidated
$13,484$372.2M36.0$112.4B8,336,000806 / 7
#4
City of PortlandOR · city
$11,339$49.7M12.6$7.20B635,000285 / 7
#5
City of SeattleWA · city
$10,400$54.9M15.3$7.80B750,000307 / 7
#6
City of Myrtle BeachSC · city
$10,019$13.9M25.0$360.7M36,000121 / 7
#7
City of BaltimoreMD · city
$7,652$47.8M22.6$4.40B575,000305 / 7
#8
City of Long BeachCA · city
$7,456$66.7M13.2$3.40B456,000226 / 7
#9
City of BostonMA · city
$6,815$51.1M26.7$4.60B675,000507 / 7
#10
City of ChicagoIL · city
$6,194$71.4M11.9$16.7B2,696,000356 / 7
#11
City of Virginia BeachVA · city
$5,921$10.9M16.4$2.70B456,000205 / 7
#12
City of TallahasseeFL · city
$5,900$12.3M14.2$1.21B205,089154 / 7
#13
Palm Beach CountyFL · county
$5,696$4.42M8.1$9.00B1,580,000252 / 7
#14
City of AustinTX · city
$5,641$16.9M16.4$5.50B975,000367 / 7
#15
City and County of DenverCO · consolidated
$5,594$25.8M18.2$4.00B715,000357 / 7
#16
City of BoulderCO · city
$5,456$21.8M14.0$589.2M108,000186 / 7
#17
City of San JoseCA · city
$5,155$27.8M7.2$5.00B970,000227 / 7
#18
City of OaklandCA · city
$5,116$28.2M10.5$2.20B430,000254 / 7
#19
City of AtlantaGA · city
$4,902$18.7M16.7$2.50B510,000255 / 7
#20
City of TampaFL · city
$4,810$10.9M11.1$1.90B395,000185 / 7
#21
Miami-Dade CountyFL · consolidated
$4,660$6.80M11.3$13.2B2,840,000455 / 7
#22
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson CountyTN · consolidated
$4,392$5.70M16.1$3.00B683,000305 / 7
#23
City of MesaAZ · city
$4,314$15.9M8.2$2.20B510,000186 / 7
#24
City of AkronOH · city
$4,245$12.9M10.6$798.0M188,000153 / 7
#25
City of MinneapolisMN · city
$4,186$31.0M9.8$1.80B430,000226 / 7
#26
City of New OrleansLA · consolidated
$4,167$8.88M12.5$1.50B360,000255 / 7
#27
City of PhiladelphiaPA · consolidated
$4,129$45.1M19.4$6.40B1,550,000506 / 7
#28
City of DetroitMI · city
$3,949$18.0M14.2$2.50B633,000295 / 7
#29
City of San DiegoCA · city
$3,913$14.5M8.0$5.40B1,380,000256 / 7
#30
City of TucsonAZ · city
$3,853$8.71M8.3$2.10B545,000203 / 7
#31
City of CharlotteNC · city
$3,820$11.0M9.0$3.40B890,000146 / 7
#32
City of Kansas CityMO · city
$3,725$5.96M8.2$1.90B510,000225 / 7
#33
City of Grand ForksND · city
$3,718$10.5M9.3$220.0M59,166144 / 7
#34
City of DallasTX · city
$3,692$14.0M10.0$4.80B1,300,000285 / 7
#35
City of PhoenixAZ · city
$3,515$11.2M8.5$5.80B1,650,000306 / 7
#36
City of OmahaNE · city
$3,469$11.7M9.2$1.70B490,000184 / 7
#37
City of BradentonFL · city
$3,437$14.3M9.9$200.0M58,184101 / 7
#38
City of Los AngelesCA · city
$3,429$26.0M13.1$13.1B3,820,000407 / 7
#39
City of MiamiFL · city
$3,409$26.8M9.3$1.50B440,000185 / 7
#40
City of MilwaukeeWI · city
$3,393$19.8M11.6$1.90B560,000305 / 7
#41
City of FresnoCA · city
$3,303$15.7M7.7$1.80B545,000183 / 7
#42
City of ColumbiaSC · city
$3,162$3.21M16.2$430.0M136,000153 / 7
#43
Macon-Bibb CountyGA · consolidated
$2,930$1.81M12.0$460.0M157,000315 / 7
#44
Lexington-Fayette Urban County GovernmentKY · consolidated
$2,908$3.29M10.9$938.0M322,570165 / 7
#45
City of SacramentoCA · city
$2,857$15.0M9.1$1.50B525,000225 / 7
#46
City of Saint PaulMN · city
$2,767$15.3M9.7$855.0M309,000165 / 7
#47
City of Oklahoma CityOK · city
$2,734$3.06M7.9$1.90B695,000255 / 7
#48
City of HoustonTX · city
$2,696$9.32M9.6$6.20B2,300,000225 / 7
#49
City of RaleighNC · city
$2,680$8.78M9.3$1.30B485,000155 / 7
#50
City of Las VegasNV · city
$2,576$12.1M4.8$1.70B660,000184 / 7
#52
City of AberdeenSD · city
$2,500$5.00M8.9$70.0M28,000101 / 7
#51
City of AlbuquerqueNM · city
$2,500$7.45M12.1$1.40B560,000226 / 7
#53
City of San AntonioTX · city
$2,475$7.34M8.7$3.70B1,495,000285 / 7
#54
City of TulsaOK · city
$2,317$4.85M8.5$950.0M410,000184 / 7
#55
City of Fort WorthTX · city
$2,268$6.29M7.7$2.20B970,000245 / 7
#56
City of JacksonvilleFL · consolidated
$1,949$2.17M8.2$1.90B975,000224 / 7
#57
City of WichitaKS · city
$1,914$4.61M7.1$761.0M397,532185 / 7
#58
City of El PasoTX · city
$1,773$4.69M9.6$1.20B677,000223 / 7
#59
City of MilledgevilleGA · city
$1,765$1.76M11.8$30.0M17,00080 / 7
#60
Louisville Metro GovernmentKY · consolidated
$1,760$2.89M9.6$1.10B625,000225 / 7
#61
City of Colorado SpringsCO · city
$1,753$4.36M5.8$850.0M485,000183 / 7
#62
City of IndianapolisIN · consolidated
$1,705$4.08M9.1$1.50B880,000225 / 7
#63
Columbus Consolidated GovernmentGA · consolidated
$1,650$1.55M14.6$340.0M206,000132 / 7
#64
City of BiloxiMS · city
$1,600$2.05M16.0$80.0M50,000110 / 7
#65
Borough of State CollegePA · city
$1,500$12.0M4.3$60.0M40,00091 / 7
#66
City of ArlingtonTX · city
$1,468$5.86M7.1$580.0M395,000164 / 7
#67
City of ColumbusOH · city
$1,311$5.36M9.3$1.20B915,000256 / 7
#68
City of MemphisTN · city
$1,290$2.47M10.5$800.0M620,000203 / 7
#69
City of DuluthMN · city
$1,279$1.26M10.5$110.0M86,000123 / 7
#70
City of GaryIN · city
$979$1.32M5.2$66.0M67,425121 / 7
#71
City of Fort WayneIN · city
$889$2.18M7.8$240.0M270,000143 / 7

Click a column header to sort by that ratio; click a row to open its full assessment. Rank and percentile reflect the operating budget per capita column, computed across all entities that report it — blank (—) cells are excluded from ranking rather than counted as zero.

The Civic Infrastructure Diagnostic Framework’s structural elements — the four cluster labels, the six capacity dimensions, and the binding-constraint framing — are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Anyone may use or adapt them with attribution. Tool implementation and full article text © 2026 JTV Advisory LLC.