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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Fort Lauderdale, FL vs St. Petersburg, FL

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

Fort Lauderdale spends 69.9% more per capita than St. Petersburg ($15,263/person difference). St. Petersburg, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 77/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Pop. 182,673
C
55/100
Budget Balance92
Debt Burden8
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
St. Petersburg, FL
Pop. 259,343
B
77/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency80
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Fort Lauderdale
St. Petersburg
Total Spending
$6.8B
$5.7B
Spending / Capita
$37,099
$21,836
Total Revenue
$9.4B
$8.9B
Revenue / Capita
$51,266
$34,179
Total Debt
$216.2M
$0
Debt / Capita
$1,183
$0
Population
182,673
259,343
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Fort Lauderdale$7,663
St. Petersburg$3,795
Parks & Recreation
Fort Lauderdale$2,357
St. Petersburg$3,226
Health
Fort Lauderdale$0
St. Petersburg$308

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Fort LauderdaleSt. Petersburg
Sales Tax
$1,496
$1,480
Income Tax
$1,238
$2,094
Intergovernmental
$1,700
$34,179
Charges & Fees
$9,057
$2,683
Other
$1,118
$5,544

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Fort LauderdaleSt. Petersburg
Fire Protection
$7,663
$3,795
Public Welfare
$619
$669
Health
$0
$308
Hospitals
$518
$546
Parks & Recreation
$2,357
$3,226
Housing
$7,339
$4,761
Sewerage
$1,517
$131
Utilities
$7,411
$3,465
Interest on Debt
$77
$0
Other
$9,599
$4,935
C
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 55/100
Average fiscal health
B
St. Petersburg, FL
Fiscal Health Score: 77/100
Good fiscal health

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