El Paso, TX vs San Jose, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 35% more per resident than San Jose, CA: $24,259 against $17,934. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
San Jose, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 61/100 (grade C) for El Paso, TX — a 29-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159 per resident, while San Jose, CA leads with parks and recreation at $1,424.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in El Paso, TX at 10% of total revenue, whereas San Jose, CA relies most on other revenue at 9%.
Summary
El Paso spends 35.3% more per capita than San Jose ($6,325/person difference). San Jose, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $40 |
| Sales Tax | $65 | $315 |
| Income Tax | $12 | $1,935 |
| Intergovernmental | $690 | $2,680 |
| Charges & Fees | $31 | $608 |
| Other | $550 | $3,519 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,159 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $233 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $83 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $299 | $810 |
| Health | $0 | $609 |
| Hospitals | $11 | $1,254 |
| Parks & Recreation | $151 | $1,424 |
| Housing | $958 | $4,897 |
| Sewerage | $6 | $161 |
| Utilities | $224 | $2,533 |
| Interest on Debt | $40 | $0 |
| General Admin | $17,951 | $0 |
| Other | $3,145 | $6,247 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.