Mayor Armondo Pavone touts Renton as “one of the most efficient cities” in the region when comparing city budget to population.

According to the data collected and presented by the city, Renton has an annual budget in 2025 of $325,000,000 with a population of 108,800 — making the cost per resident per day $8.18.

“Within the region, that makes Renton one of the most efficient cities at delivering a wide range of services, including water provision, police protection and maintenance of road infrastructure and development throughout the city,” Pavone said.

Renton Communications and Engagement Director Laura Pettitt said they gathered data from each city’s publicly available budget documents on their respective websites. The city compared Renton to Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond.

Seattle, with a population more than seven times that of Renton, has a cost per resident per year of $37.65 in 2025. Bellevue has a cost of $15.63 per resident per year, Kirkland is $16.21, and Redmond is $16.23.

Looking into other cities in the area with similar populations as Renton, Kent and Auburn had similar figures at approximately $9.45 and $9.33, respectively. Federal Way’s cost per resident per year was lower than Renton at approximately $6 a year.