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

Long Beach, CA vs Boston, MA

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

Summary

Boston spends 52.6% more per capita than Long Beach ($38,049/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Long Beach, CA
Pop. 462,293
B
67/100
Budget Balance52
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency23
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Boston, MA
Pop. 665,945
C
56/100
Budget Balance25
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Long Beach
Boston
Total Spending
$15.8B
$48.1B
Spending / Capita
$34,250
$72,299
Total Revenue
$34.9B
$20.8B
Revenue / Capita
$75,389
$31,243
Total Debt
$0
$296.3M
Debt / Capita
$0
$445
Population
462,293
665,945
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Long Beach$0
Boston$1,107
Highways & Roads
Long Beach$0
Boston$594
Parks & Recreation
Long Beach$698
Boston$711
Education
Long Beach$0
Boston$30,742
Health
Long Beach$477
Boston$725

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachBoston
Sales Tax
$36
$78
Income Tax
$1,760
$0
Intergovernmental
$1,688
$5,357
Charges & Fees
$2,424
$2,784
Other
$8,836
$4,557

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachBoston
Fire Protection
$0
$1,107
Highways & Roads
$0
$594
Education
$0
$30,742
Public Welfare
$1,317
$1,110
Health
$477
$725
Hospitals
$2,751
$2,584
Parks & Recreation
$698
$711
Housing
$5,782
$6,614
Sewerage
$86
$355
Utilities
$3,889
$3,402
Interest on Debt
$2,718
$0
General Admin
$0
$5,401
Other
$16,533
$18,955
B
Long Beach, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 67/100
Good fiscal health
C
Boston, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 56/100
Average fiscal health

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