Fresno, CA vs Miami, FL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fresno, CA spends 54% more per resident than Miami, FL: $43,387 against $28,195. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Miami, 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.
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 Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Fresno, CA at 19% of total revenue, whereas Miami, FL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Fresno spends 53.9% more per capita than Miami ($15,192/person difference). Miami, 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 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $19 | $1,647 |
| Income Tax | $501 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | -$4,470 | $15,037 |
| Charges & Fees | $11 | $0 |
| Other | $2,070 | $1,399 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,261 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $568 | $7,399 |
| Education | $3,942 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,946 | $109 |
| Health | $599 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,499 |
| Parks & Recreation | $76 | $1,783 |
| Housing | $2,856 | $6,840 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $699 |
| Utilities | $15,340 | $1,295 |
| Interest on Debt | $255 | $0 |
| Other | $14,545 | $8,572 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.