This paper reviews previous studies have indicated that it is costly to provide public services in areas with low‐density, spatially expansive development, leading to higher per capita expenditures. The paper then uses a panel dataset of U.S. urban county areas and a specification allowing for potential nonlinearity between development patterns and per capita expenditures. Estimates indicate that the spatial extent of development is the most important factor in expenditures; it is less costly to provide public services when development is more compact.