Colorado Springs, CO vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA outspends Colorado Springs, CO by a wide margin per resident — $34,250 versus $13,222, a 159% 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 59/100 (grade C) for Colorado Springs, CO — 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 Colorado Springs, CO carries $3,063 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Colorado Springs, CO leads with fire protection at $1,266 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 Colorado Springs, CO at 13% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 61.4% more per capita than Colorado Springs ($21,028/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 | $257 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,902 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $5,676 | $2,424 |
| Other | $2,678 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,266 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $575 | $1,317 |
| Health | $0 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $416 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $376 | $698 |
| Housing | $2,713 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $86 |
| Utilities | $2,566 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $190 | $2,718 |
| Other | $5,120 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.