Albuquerque, NM vs Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA outspends Albuquerque, NM by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $17,237, a 226% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Albuquerque, NM holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 81/100 (grade A) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 36-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

On debt, Albuquerque, NM carries the lighter load at $613 per resident versus $1,069 for Philadelphia, PA. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Albuquerque, NM leads with parks and recreation at $1,990 per resident, while Philadelphia, PA leads with fire protection at $7,082.

They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Albuquerque, NM at 11% of total revenue, whereas Philadelphia, PA relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 16%.