Boston, MA vs Philadelphia, PA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Boston, MA spends 28% more per resident than Philadelphia, PA: $72,299 against $56,272. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Boston, MA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 56/100 (grade C) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 11-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Boston, MA carries the lighter load at $445 per resident versus $1,069 for Philadelphia, PA. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Boston, MA leads with education at $30,742 per resident, while Philadelphia, PA leads with fire protection at $7,082.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 17% of total revenue in Boston, MA and 16% in Philadelphia, PA.
Summary
Boston spends 28.5% more per capita than Philadelphia ($16,027/person difference). Boston, MA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 56/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $78 | $107 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $8 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,357 | $6,288 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,784 | $2,790 |
| Other | $4,557 | $4,029 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,505 |
| Fire Protection | $1,107 | $7,082 |
| Highways & Roads | $594 | $1,215 |
| Education | $30,742 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,110 | $1,456 |
| Health | $725 | $229 |
| Hospitals | $2,584 | $4,048 |
| Parks & Recreation | $711 | $593 |
| Housing | $6,614 | $4,902 |
| Sewerage | $355 | $325 |
| Utilities | $3,402 | $4,222 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $3 |
| General Admin | $5,401 | $0 |
| Other | $18,955 | $30,692 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.