Long Beach, CA vs Miami, FL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA spends 21% more per resident than Miami, FL: $34,250 against $28,195. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Long Beach, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 67/100 (grade B) against 53/100 (grade C) for Miami, FL — a 14-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698 per resident, while Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Long Beach, CA at 12% of total revenue, whereas Miami, FL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 21.5% more per capita than Miami ($6,055/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)
| Property Tax | $0 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $36 | $1,647 |
| Income Tax | $1,760 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,688 | $15,037 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,424 | $0 |
| Other | $8,836 | $1,399 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $7,399 |
| Public Welfare | $1,317 | $109 |
| Health | $477 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,751 | $1,499 |
| Parks & Recreation | $698 | $1,783 |
| Housing | $5,782 | $6,840 |
| Sewerage | $86 | $699 |
| Utilities | $3,889 | $1,295 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,718 | $0 |
| Other | $16,533 | $8,572 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.