Lancaster, PA vs Allentown, PA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Lancaster spends 236.7% more per capita than Allentown ($36,098/person difference). Allentown, PA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 68/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $37 |
| Sales Tax | $72 | $55 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,166 |
| Intergovernmental | $24,786 | $210 |
| Other | $4,613 | $3,410 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $5,263 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $4,067 | $333 |
| Highways & Roads | $500 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $24 | $1,275 |
| Health | $417 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $6,387 | $1,505 |
| Parks & Recreation | $278 | $620 |
| Housing | $2,619 | $3,312 |
| Utilities | $7,457 | $2,206 |
| Interest on Debt | $76 | $0 |
| Other | $24,262 | $6,001 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.