Boston, MA vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Boston, MA outspends Long Beach, CA by a wide margin per resident — $72,299 versus $34,250, a 111% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Long Beach, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 67/100 (grade B) against 56/100 (grade C) for Boston, MA — a 11-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Boston, MA carries $445 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Boston, MA leads with education at $30,742 per resident, while Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Boston, MA at 17% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Boston spends 111.1% more per capita than Long Beach ($38,049/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $78 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,357 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,784 | $2,424 |
| Other | $4,557 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,107 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $594 | $0 |
| Education | $30,742 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,110 | $1,317 |
| Health | $725 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $2,584 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $711 | $698 |
| Housing | $6,614 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $355 | $86 |
| Utilities | $3,402 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| General Admin | $5,401 | $0 |
| Other | $18,955 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.