Debt per capita is a financial indicator calculated by dividing a municipality's total debt by its population, expressing the debt burden in terms of dollars per resident. This metric allows meaningful comparisons between communities of different sizes and helps residents understand their share of public obligations. For example, a city with $100 million in debt and 50,000 residents has debt per capita of $2,000. While useful for comparisons, debt per capita must be interpreted carefully—higher debt might reflect greater infrastructure investment rather than financial mismanagement, and communities with different demographics, growth rates, or service levels may reasonably have different debt levels. Financial analysts consider debt per capita alongside other metrics like debt-to-revenue ratios when assessing municipal financial health.