FY2027 City Comparison
How Fall River's budget compares
Fall River next to its three closest neighbors — Brockton, New Bedford, and Taunton — on spending, taxes, and the state aid that funds it all.
Total Budget
Spending Per Resident
Residential Tax Rate
FY2026 rate per $1,000 of assessed property value
Source: MA Department of Revenue, FY2026 Tax Rates by Class
State Aid from Massachusetts
Chapter 70 education funding is the largest single revenue source for all four cities. The state determines each city's aid based on enrollment, demographics, and local wealth.
Education Aid (Chapter 70)
The state's largest aid program — funding public schools based on enrollment, student need, and local wealth.
Top 25 MA Districts by Chapter 70 Aid
Fall River ranks #8 statewide in total Chapter 70 funding — and near the top in per-pupil aid, reflecting high student need.
| # ▲ | District | Total Aid | Enrollment | Per Pupil | State Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springfield | $583.2M | 28,270 | $20,628 | 91% |
| 2 | Worcester | $437.8M | 27,183 | $16,104 | 75.3% |
| 3 | Lawrence | $332.2M | 14,894 | $22,304 | 95.1% |
| 4 | Lynn | $327.3M | 18,077 | $18,108 | 82.1% |
| 5 | Brockton | $288.0M | 16,574 | $17,378 | 81.6% |
| 6 | Lowell | $276.0M | 16,778 | $16,448 | 79.1% |
| 7 | New Bedford | $271.2M | 14,160 | $19,155 | 86.2% |
| 8 | Fall River | $250.5M | 13,241 | $18,922 | 84.2% |
| 9 | Boston | $249.5M | 55,975 | $4,457 | 19.8% |
| 10 | Chelsea | $131.4M | 6,708 | $19,581 | 83% |
| 11 | Everett | $127.4M | 7,670 | $16,615 | 72.9% |
| 12 | Holyoke | $110.6M | 5,620 | $19,679 | 88.2% |
| 13 | Taunton | $109.6M | 8,364 | $13,106 | 68.3% |
| 14 | Revere | $107.8M | 7,639 | $14,110 | 66.9% |
| 15 | Chicopee | $100.8M | 7,057 | $14,280 | 73.6% |
| 16 | Haverhill | $96.4M | 8,240 | $11,702 | 62.2% |
| 17 | Framingham | $93.2M | 8,948 | $10,412 | 54.3% |
| 18 | Fitchburg | $92.8M | 5,826 | $15,926 | 78.2% |
| 19 | Leominster | $76.2M | 6,098 | $12,489 | 65.3% |
| 20 | Methuen | $72.7M | 6,553 | $11,091 | 58.3% |
| 21 | Malden | $70.3M | 6,680 | $10,520 | 53.1% |
| 22 | Pittsfield | $68.9M | 5,396 | $12,760 | 66.9% |
| 23 | Attleboro | $63.2M | 6,364 | $9,935 | 55.5% |
| 24 | Milford | $54.9M | 4,585 | $11,970 | 63.5% |
| 25 | Marlborough | $52.3M | 5,041 | $10,371 | 54.6% |
Source: MA DESE FY2027 Preliminary Chapter 70 Aid and Net School Spending Requirements
Total State Aid & Cherry Sheets
Beyond Chapter 70, cities receive general government aid, veterans benefits, and other grants — but also pay mandatory assessments back to the state for charter schools, regional transit, and county charges.
Total State Aid
Line-by-Line Breakdown
Every year the state sends each city a "cherry sheet" — the official list of state aid it will receive and assessments it must pay.
Source: city FY2027 budgets; MA Division of Local Services & DESE FY2027 estimates
Where the Money Goes
Understanding the Differences
These four cities are geographic neighbors of similar size, but their budgets can look very different due to how each one organizes and reports its spending. Here's what to keep in mind.
Not all budgets are organized the same way
Each city decides how to group its costs. For example, Brockton puts employee benefits, debt payments, and schools all under "General Government" in its official documents — making that category look enormous. We've separated those costs into comparable categories, but some differences remain.
Pension costs can show up in different places
Most cities pay into their pension fund directly (a "pension contribution"). Brockton instead issued bonds years ago to cover its pension liability, so ~$25.3M of what is functionally a pension cost shows up as debt service. This makes Brockton's debt look high and its benefits look low compared to peers.
State assessments can be visible or hidden
Massachusetts charges cities for things like charter school tuition and regional transit. Fall River ($47M), Brockton ($40M), and New Bedford ($42M) show these as a large expense. Taunton nets/combines most of them with transfers and against state aid, so they appear smaller — but the obligation is still there.
Enterprise funds make total budgets hard to compare
Cities fund services like water, sewer, and EMS either through the general fund or through separate "enterprise funds" paid for by user fees (your water bill, ambulance charges, etc.). Whether these are included in the reported total budget varies by city — and it can make a big difference:
To keep this comparison apples-to-apples, the "Total Budget" bars above use each city's general fund — the main operating budget. Enterprise funds (water, sewer, EMS) are self-supporting utilities paid for by user fees, and each city runs them at a different scale, so they're excluded here. The middle column shows how much each city budgets in separate enterprise funds on top of the general fund.
Population and scale matter
Taunton has about 60,000 residents — roughly 60% the size of the other three cities. Its total budget is smaller, but per-capita spending tells a more useful story. When you switch to "Per Capita" view above, you'll see the cities are closer than the raw dollar amounts suggest.
How each city reports its budget
Official Budget Documents
Read each city's FY2027 budget document.