Long Beach, CA vs Colorado Springs, CO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA outspends Colorado Springs, CO by a wide margin per resident — $34,250 versus $13,222, a 159% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Long Beach, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 67/100 (grade B) against 59/100 (grade C) for Colorado Springs, CO — a 8-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Colorado Springs, CO carries $3,063 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698 per resident, while Colorado Springs, CO leads with fire protection at $1,266.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Long Beach, CA at 12% of total revenue, whereas Colorado Springs, CO relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 13%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 159.0% more per capita than Colorado Springs ($21,028/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 | $36 | $257 |
| Income Tax | $1,760 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,688 | $6,902 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,424 | $5,676 |
| Other | $8,836 | $2,678 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $1,266 |
| Public Welfare | $1,317 | $575 |
| Health | $477 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,751 | $416 |
| Parks & Recreation | $698 | $376 |
| Housing | $5,782 | $2,713 |
| Sewerage | $86 | $0 |
| Utilities | $3,889 | $2,566 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,718 | $190 |
| Other | $16,533 | $5,120 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.