Long Beach, CA vs Indianapolis city (balance), IN
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Indianapolis city (balance), IN spends 34% more per resident than Long Beach, CA: $46,045 against $34,250. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Indianapolis city (balance), IN edges Long Beach, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 7 points — 74/100 (grade B) to 67/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Indianapolis city (balance), IN carries $577 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 Indianapolis city (balance), IN leads with police at $2,032.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 12% of total revenue in Long Beach, CA and 6% in Indianapolis city (balance), IN.
Summary
Indianapolis city (balance) spends 25.6% more per capita than Long Beach ($11,795/person difference). Indianapolis city (balance), IN has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 74/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $20 |
| Sales Tax | $36 | $178 |
| Income Tax | $1,760 | $136 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,688 | $1,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,424 | $2,813 |
| Other | $8,836 | $4,675 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $2,032 |
| Fire Protection | $0 | $397 |
| Public Welfare | $1,317 | $1,469 |
| Health | $477 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,751 | $2,453 |
| Parks & Recreation | $698 | $798 |
| Housing | $5,782 | $2,664 |
| Sewerage | $86 | $248 |
| Utilities | $3,889 | $2,227 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,718 | $1,381 |
| General Admin | $0 | $23,227 |
| Other | $16,533 | $9,149 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.