Denver, CO vs San Diego, CA

San Diego, CA spends 29% more per resident than Denver, CO: $43,306 against $33,582. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

San Diego, CA edges Denver, CO on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 51/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.

San Diego, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Denver, CO carries $5,126 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Denver, CO leads with parks and recreation at $3,319 per resident, while San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Denver, CO at 37% of total revenue, whereas San Diego, CA relies most on other revenue at 39%.