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

Houston, TX vs Long Beach, CA

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

Summary

Long Beach spends 58.0% more per capita than Houston ($19,850/person difference). Houston, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Houston, TX
Pop. 2,296,253
A
83/100
Budget Balance94
Debt Burden72
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Long Beach, CA
Pop. 462,293
B
67/100
Budget Balance52
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency23
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Houston
Long Beach
Total Spending
$33.1B
$15.8B
Spending / Capita
$14,400
$34,250
Total Revenue
$127.7B
$34.9B
Revenue / Capita
$55,600
$75,389
Total Debt
$2.0B
$0
Debt / Capita
$863
$0
Population
2,296,253
462,293
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Houston$295
Long Beach$0
Highways & Roads
Houston$175
Long Beach$0
Parks & Recreation
Houston$361
Long Beach$698
Health
Houston$210
Long Beach$477

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

HoustonLong Beach
Sales Tax
$181
$36
Income Tax
$39
$1,760
Intergovernmental
$33
$1,688
Charges & Fees
$3,475
$2,424
Other
$3,960
$8,836

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

HoustonLong Beach
Fire Protection
$295
$0
Highways & Roads
$175
$0
Public Welfare
$533
$1,317
Health
$210
$477
Hospitals
$511
$2,751
Parks & Recreation
$361
$698
Housing
$4,288
$5,782
Sewerage
$386
$86
Utilities
$1,339
$3,889
Interest on Debt
$0
$2,718
Other
$6,301
$16,533
A
Houston, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 83/100
Excellent fiscal health
B
Long Beach, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 67/100
Good fiscal health

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