Austin gets ‘D’ grade on finances, with liabilities equaling $10,300 per taxpayer

Local Government
Austin muni building
Austin's finances worsened by nearly $1 billion between FY 2019 and FY 2020, according to Truth in Accounting. | Wiki Commons Images/Larry D. Moore

Among the 75 most populous U.S. cities, Austin ranks 55th for the state of its finances, chalking up $10,300 in liabilities per taxpayer, according to a Truth in Accounting (TIA) analysis of municipal data released this month. 

The nonprofit group, which promotes financial transparency in government, gave Austin a “D” grade for its fiscal policies. TIA gave “D” grades to all cities surveyed that have per-taxpayer debts amounting to between $5,000 and $20,000.  

Only 14 of the cities were in the black, having more assets than liabilities, while 61 of them carried a wide range of debts, according to TIA. The data is based on fiscal-year 2020 audited municipal financial reports.

In FY 2020, Austin was short $3 billion to pay all of its obligations, which included unfunded pension plans and health care costs, the study found. The city has suffered from poor fiscal management for several years, TIA said, having failed to fully fund its workers’ retirement obligations.

Even though the cities received federal assistance to deal with the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, most cities' financial situations worsened, according to the study. On average, liabilities in all 75 cities combined increased in FY 2020 by $23.5 billion compared to the previous year, TIA said.

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Ranking the Financial Health of the Largest U.S. Cities

RankCityPer Capita Surplus / Shortfall
1Washington, D.C.$4,800
2Irvine, Calif.$4,700
3Lincoln, Neb.$3,100
4Plano, Texas$2,700
5Aurora, Ill.$2,600
6Tampa, Fla.$2,300
7Raleigh, N.C.$2,200
8Fresno, Calif.$1,300
9Charlotte, S.C.$1,100
10Wichita, Kan.$900
11Corpus Christi, Texas$800
12Colorado Springs, Colo.$300
13Long Beach, Calif.$100
14Cleveland$29
15Oklahoma City-$46
16Stockton, Calif.-$300
17Tulsa, Okla.-$300
18Arlington, Texas-$700
19Orlando, Fla.-$900
20Minneapolis-$1,100
21Chula Vista, Calif.-$1,200
22Bakersfield, Calif.-$1,200
23Columbus, Ohio-$1,200
24Fort Wayne, Ind.-$1,300
25Toledo, Ohio-$1,400
26Greensboro, N.C.-$1,500
27Las Vegas, Nev.-$1,600
28Henderson, Nev.-$2,300
29Riverside, Calif.-$2,300
30Seattle, Wash.-$2,800
31Louisville, Ky.-$3,000
32San Antonio, Texas-$3,100
33St. Paul, Minn.-$3,100
34Virginia Beach, Va.-$3,400
35Indianapolis-$3,500
36Sacramento, Calif.-$4,300
37Denver-$4,700
38Atlanta-$4,800
39Memphis, Tenn.-$4,800
40El Paso, Texas-$4,900
41Santa Ana, Calif.-$5,300
42Mesa, Ariz.-$6,200
43Anchorage, Alaska-$6,200
44Los Angeles-$6,400
45San Diego-$6,400
46Albuquerque, N.M.-$6,400
47Phoenix-$6,500
48Anaheim, Calif.-$6,600
49Detroit-$7,600
50Omaha, Neb.-$7,700
51Tucson, Ariz.-$8,300
52Fort Worth, Texas-$9,300
53San Jose, Calif.-$10,200
54Jacksonville, Fla.-$10,200
55Austin, Texas-$10,300
56Lexington, Ky.-$10,500
57Boston-$10,600
58Dallas-$12,700
59Kansas City, Mo.-$12,800
60Houston-$13,200
61Miami-$13,800
62Pittsburgh-$14,900
63Milwaukee, Wis.-$15,000
64Oakland, Calif.-$17,200
65St. Louis-$17,500
66Cincinnati-$18,200
67San Francisco-$19,000
68Nashville, Tenn.-$19,800
69New Orleans-$19,900
70Baltimore-$21,300
71Portland, Ore.-$24,900
72Philadelphia-$25,900
73Honolulu-$31,700
74Chicago-$43,100
75New York City-$71,400
Source: Truth in Accounting