Fresno, CA vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fresno, CA spends 27% more per resident than Long Beach, CA: $43,387 against $34,250. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Long Beach, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 67/100 (grade B) against 50/100 (grade C) for Fresno, CA — a 17-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: Fresno, CA leads with education at $3,942 per resident, while Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 19% of total revenue in Fresno, CA and 12% in Long Beach, CA.
Summary
Fresno spends 26.7% more per capita than Long Beach ($9,137/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $337 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $19 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $501 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | -$4,470 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $11 | $2,424 |
| Other | $2,070 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,261 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $568 | $0 |
| Education | $3,942 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,946 | $1,317 |
| Health | $599 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $76 | $698 |
| Housing | $2,856 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $86 |
| Utilities | $15,340 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $255 | $2,718 |
| Other | $14,545 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.