Fresno, CA vs Jacksonville, FL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fresno, CA spends 38% more per resident than Jacksonville, FL: $43,387 against $31,456. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Jacksonville, FL edges Fresno, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 3 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 50/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Fresno, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Jacksonville, FL carries $2,821 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Fresno, CA leads with education at $3,942 per resident, while Jacksonville, FL leads with fire protection at $9,436.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Fresno, CA at 19% of total revenue, whereas Jacksonville, FL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 14%.
Summary
Fresno spends 37.9% more per capita than Jacksonville ($11,931/person difference). Jacksonville, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $337 | $10 |
| Sales Tax | $19 | $233 |
| Income Tax | $501 | $762 |
| Intergovernmental | -$4,470 | $7,348 |
| Charges & Fees | $11 | $2,119 |
| Other | $2,070 | $4,705 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,261 | $18 |
| Fire Protection | $568 | $9,436 |
| Education | $3,942 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,946 | $486 |
| Health | $599 | $332 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $557 |
| Parks & Recreation | $76 | $1,329 |
| Housing | $2,856 | $5,572 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $176 |
| Utilities | $15,340 | $1,835 |
| Interest on Debt | $255 | $1,942 |
| Other | $14,545 | $9,771 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.