Skip to main content
Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Newark, NJ

Population: 307,355 (2022) · Large Cities (250K+)

C
54/100

Average fiscal health, some areas of concern

Total Spending
$6.2B
Per Capita
$20,014
Total Revenue
$1.5B
Total Debt
$72.6M

Spending Breakdown

Hospitals
28.5%$1.8B
Housing & Community Development
25.5%$1.6B
Other
21.5%$1.3B
Utilities
12.5%$769.5M
Public Welfare
3.0%$187.0M
Highways & Roads
2.9%$177.7M
Fire Protection
2.1%$127.3M
Parks & Recreation
1.7%$107.4M
Health
1.7%$104.6M
Sewerage
0.6%$34.6M

Spending data sourced from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances. Per-capita comparisons use the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities methodology for fair cross-city benchmarking.

Revenue Sources

Property Tax
0.7%$10.5M
Sales Tax
0.2%$2.4M
Intergovernmental
50.8%$755.0M
Charges & Fees
38.2%$567.9M
Other
44.8%$665.4M

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection$414/person
Highways & Roads$578/person
Parks & Recreation$350/person
Health$340/person

Score Breakdown

Budget Balance & Reserves (25%)1/100
Debt Burden (20%)100/100
Pension Funding (20%)76/100
Spending Efficiency (15%)88/100
Revenue Diversity (10%)0/100
Trend Direction (10%)50/100

Debt Overview

Total Debt$72.6M
Long-Term Debt$0
Debt Per Capita$236
Cash & Securities$2.8M

Compare Cities

See how Newark stacks up against another city.

vs Jersey City, NJvs Paterson, NJvs Elizabeth, NJ
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023). Population from American Community Survey.

Other Cities in New Jersey

Jersey City, NJ

Pop. 288K

B
Total Spending
$6.1B
Per Capita
$21,136

Paterson, NJ

Pop. 158K

C
Total Spending
$2.5B
Per Capita
$16,110

Elizabeth, NJ

Pop. 136K

C
Total Spending
$2.9B
Per Capita
$21,067

Toms River, NJ

Pop. 93K

A
Total Spending
$921.9M
Per Capita
$9,931

Compare Newark With

Jersey City, NJ

Spending: $21,136/person · Grade: B

Paterson, NJ

Spending: $16,110/person · Grade: C

Elizabeth, NJ

Spending: $21,067/person · Grade: C

Toms River, NJ

Spending: $9,931/person · Grade: A

Frequently Asked Questions

Newark, NJ spends $20,014 per resident, based on total expenditures of $6.2B for a population of 307,355. The city has a Fiscal Health Score of C (54/100).

Newark, NJ has total expenditures of $6.2B and total revenue of $1.5B. The city carries $72.6M in total debt, based on Census Bureau data from 2023.

Newark, NJ employs 0 government workers, of which 0 are full-time. The average government salary is $0, with 0.0 employees per 10,000 residents.

Newark, NJ has a Fiscal Health Score of C (54/100). This score evaluates budget balance, debt burden, pension funding, spending efficiency, revenue diversity, and 3-year fiscal trajectory compared to peer cities of similar population.

Last updated:

this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. municipal and county government finances dataset. The detail above comes directly from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. cities, counties, and states.

The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.

For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. cities, counties, and states with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.