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

Long Beach, CA vs Houston, TX

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

Summary

Long Beach spends 137.9% more per capita than Houston ($19,850/person difference). Houston, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).

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
Houston, TX
Pop. 2,296,253
A
83/100
Budget Balance94
Debt Burden72
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Long Beach
Houston
Total Spending
$15.8B
$33.1B
Spending / Capita
$34,250
$14,400
Total Revenue
$34.9B
$127.7B
Revenue / Capita
$75,389
$55,600
Total Debt
$0
$2.0B
Debt / Capita
$0
$863
Population
462,293
2,296,253
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Long Beach$0
Houston$295
Highways & Roads
Long Beach$0
Houston$175
Parks & Recreation
Long Beach$698
Houston$361
Health
Long Beach$477
Houston$210

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachHouston
Sales Tax
$36
$181
Income Tax
$1,760
$39
Intergovernmental
$1,688
$33
Charges & Fees
$2,424
$3,475
Other
$8,836
$3,960

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachHouston
Fire Protection
$0
$295
Highways & Roads
$0
$175
Public Welfare
$1,317
$533
Health
$477
$210
Hospitals
$2,751
$511
Parks & Recreation
$698
$361
Housing
$5,782
$4,288
Sewerage
$86
$386
Utilities
$3,889
$1,339
Interest on Debt
$2,718
$0
Other
$16,533
$6,301
B
Long Beach, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 67/100
Good fiscal health
A
Houston, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 83/100
Excellent fiscal health

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