How Does Virginia Beach, VA Spend Tax Money?

Virginia Beach, VA earns a D on the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score (47/100). Multiple stress indicators, debt burden, pension underfunding, or a recent run of operating deficits, are flashing. Bond raters and state oversight officials typically pay closer attention to D-grade cities.

Of the $19.5B that Virginia Beach, VA spent in its most recent reported fiscal year, the largest single line item per resident is Education at $21,342. Parks & Recreation comes next at $1,574 per resident. Together those two functions account for the bulk of every-day taxpayer-facing services in the city budget. The remaining categories, parks, health, housing, debt service, and general administration, fill out the picture.

Where does the money come from? Property tax provides 0 percent of city revenue, sales tax 2 percent, intergovernmental transfers from federal and state sources 100 percent, and direct charges and user fees 5 percent. The remainder comes from utility revenue, income tax (where applicable), and miscellaneous sources.

Debt-wise, Virginia Beach runs below the peer-group median: $297 per resident versus $445 for similar-size cities. Lower debt is generally a positive fiscal signal but can also reflect deferred maintenance if capital needs are not being addressed.

The CitySpend Fiscal Health Score combines six factors into one composite, drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances: budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden per capita versus peer median (20%), pension funded ratio from the Public Plans Database (20%), spending efficiency (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and three-year trend direction (10%). Best-practice weighting follows guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Read the full methodology.