Kansas City, MO vs Oakland, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Oakland, CA spends 32% more per resident than Kansas City, MO: $30,055 against $22,820. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oakland, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 72/100 (grade B) against 52/100 (grade C) for Kansas City, MO — a 20-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: Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309 per resident, while Oakland, CA leads with health at $1,016.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Kansas City, MO at 835% of total revenue, whereas Oakland, CA relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Oakland spends 24.1% more per capita than Kansas City ($7,235/person difference). Oakland, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 72/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $623 | $522 |
| Intergovernmental | $7 | $42,277 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,794 | $0 |
| Other | $11,150 | $4,337 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $119 | $1 |
| Public Welfare | $3,018 | $2,426 |
| Health | $0 | $1,016 |
| Hospitals | $1,849 | $2,498 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,309 | $955 |
| Housing | $4,681 | $7,811 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $1,417 |
| Utilities | $3,123 | $0 |
| Other | $8,721 | $13,929 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.