Jersey City, NJ vs Elizabeth, NJ

Jersey City, NJ and Elizabeth, NJ spend within 0.3% of each other per resident — $21,136 versus $21,067 — so on the headline spending-per-capita measure the two cities are effectively neck and neck.

Jersey City, NJ holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 70/100 (grade B) against 61/100 (grade C) for Elizabeth, NJ — a 9-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: Jersey City, NJ leads with health at $634 per resident, while Elizabeth, NJ leads with parks and recreation at $980.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Jersey City, NJ at 27% of total revenue, whereas Elizabeth, NJ relies most on charges and fees at 18%.