Atlanta, GA vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA spends 35% more per resident than Atlanta, GA: $34,250 against $25,457. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Atlanta, GA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 85/100 (grade A) against 67/100 (grade B) for Long Beach, CA — a 18-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Atlanta, GA at $1,274 per resident and in Long Beach, CA at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Atlanta, GA at 6% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 25.7% more per capita than Atlanta ($8,793/person difference). Atlanta, GA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 85/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $419 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $0 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $1,292 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $9,121 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,645 | $2,424 |
| Other | $5,461 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $315 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $464 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $513 | $0 |
| Education | $25 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,587 | $1,317 |
| Health | $0 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $55 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,274 | $698 |
| Housing | $4,594 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $343 | $86 |
| Utilities | $8,026 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $8,262 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.