Austin, TX vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA spends 57% more per resident than Austin, TX: $34,250 against $21,772. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Austin, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 75/100 (grade B) against 67/100 (grade B) for Long Beach, CA — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Austin, TX carries $1,229 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Austin, TX at $1,801 per resident and in Long Beach, CA at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Austin, TX at 18% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 36.4% more per capita than Austin ($12,478/person difference). Austin, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $526 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $1,465 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,031 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,247 | $2,424 |
| Other | $5,645 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $634 | $0 |
| Education | $51 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,837 | $1,317 |
| Health | $517 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $664 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,801 | $698 |
| Housing | $3,741 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $865 | $86 |
| Utilities | $3,264 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $8,399 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.