Baltimore, MD vs Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA spends 26% more per resident than Baltimore, MD: $85,432 against $67,935. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Baltimore, MD holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 70/100 (grade B) against 47/100 (grade D) for Los Angeles, CA — a 23-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. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Baltimore, MD leads with education at $35,510 per resident, while Los Angeles, CA leads with police at $4,111.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Baltimore, MD at 7% of total revenue, whereas Los Angeles, CA relies most on other revenue at 51%.