Kansas City, MO vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA spends 50% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $34,250 against $22,820. 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 52/100 (grade C) for Kansas City, MO — a 15-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. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Kansas City, MO at $1,309 per resident and in Long Beach, CA at $698.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 835% of total revenue in Kansas City, MO and 12% in Long Beach, CA.
Summary
Long Beach spends 33.4% more per capita than Kansas City ($11,430/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)
| Sales Tax | $623 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $7 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,794 | $2,424 |
| Other | $11,150 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $119 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $3,018 | $1,317 |
| Health | $0 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $1,849 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,309 | $698 |
| Housing | $4,681 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $86 |
| Utilities | $3,123 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $8,721 | $16,533 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.