Local finances
What these governments actually spent, from the audited report every North Carolina unit files with the Local Government Commission. Meeting records say what was authorized; these say what was spent.
Ranked per resident, which is the only way a town of three thousand and a city of a hundred and eighty thousand can be set beside each other.
| Government | Per resident | Total | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Holly Springs | $3,315 | $162,613,744 | 49,056 |
| Chatham County | $3,154 | $261,663,534 | 82,975 |
| City of Sanford | $2,969 | $97,435,325 | 32,813 |
| City of Raleigh | $2,929 | $1,466,433,517 | 500,639 |
| Town of Apex | $2,894 | $217,416,535 | 75,117 |
| Orange County | $2,760 | $424,338,514 | 153,756 |
| Town of Fuquay-Varina | $2,723 | $120,503,423 | 44,246 |
| Town of Hillsborough | $2,588 | $26,741,853 | 10,334 |
| City of Durham | $2,561 | $770,489,227 | 300,907 |
| Town of Chapel Hill | $2,533 | $164,131,630 | 64,785 |
| Town of Cary | $2,465 | $461,962,175 | 187,386 |
| Town of Wake Forest | $2,238 | $132,472,385 | 59,205 |
| Wake County | $2,186 | $2,701,721,514 | 1,235,748 |
| Town of Garner | $2,013 | $77,642,151 | 38,569 |
| Town of Pittsboro | $1,850 | $11,091,330 | 5,996 |
| Town of Knightdale | $1,787 | $40,524,159 | 22,683 |
| Durham County | $1,710 | $586,763,219 | 343,108 |
| Town of Morrisville | $1,698 | $57,755,588 | 34,021 |
2 of 20 governments have filed nothing for 2025 yet, so this is a partial table rather than a ranking of the region. A unit files after its audit is complete, which is months after the year ends.