Bethlehem, PA vs Harrisburg, PA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Bethlehem spends 19729.5% more per capita than Harrisburg ($14,395/person difference). Harrisburg, PA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $405 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $308 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,237 | -$1,698 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,296 | $0 |
| Other | $3,969 | $0 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,642 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $668 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,218 | $0 |
| Health | $187 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $526 | $73 |
| Parks & Recreation | $634 | $0 |
| Housing | $2,229 | $0 |
| Sewerage | $68 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,000 | $0 |
| Other | $5,296 | $0 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.