Dallas, TX vs San Diego, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 24% more per resident than Dallas, TX: $43,306 against $34,849. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Dallas, TX edges San Diego, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 57/100 (grade C) to 53/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in Dallas, TX at $1,519 per resident and in San Diego, CA at $3,335.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Dallas, TX at 22% of total revenue, whereas San Diego, CA relies most on other revenue at 39%.
Summary
San Diego spends 19.5% more per capita than Dallas ($8,457/person difference). Dallas, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 57/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $9 | $124 |
| Sales Tax | $25 | $63 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $194 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,223 | $57 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $14 |
| Other | $584 | $3,801 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,519 | $3,335 |
| Fire Protection | $305 | $1,278 |
| Highways & Roads | $201 | $1,408 |
| Education | $62 | $2,005 |
| Public Welfare | $215 | $700 |
| Health | $0 | $411 |
| Hospitals | $385 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $436 |
| Housing | $444 | $4,476 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $43 |
| Utilities | $833 | $11,704 |
| General Admin | $25,827 | $0 |
| Other | $5,059 | $17,509 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.