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

Long Beach, CA vs Portland, OR

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

Reviewed by CitySpend Editorial Team · Updated

Long Beach, CA spends 45% more per resident than Portland, OR: $34,250 against $23,675. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Long Beach, CA edges Portland, OR on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 67/100 (grade B) to 63/100 (grade C). 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 Portland, OR carries $1,574 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Long Beach, CA at $698 per resident and in Portland, OR at $2,477.

They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Long Beach, CA at 12% of total revenue, whereas Portland, OR relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 19%.

Summary

Long Beach spends 44.7% more per capita than Portland ($10,575/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
Portland, OR
Pop. 646,101
C
63/100
Budget Balance83
Debt Burden7
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency72
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Long Beach
Portland
Total Spending
$15.8B
$15.3B
Spending / Capita
$34,250
$23,675
Total Revenue
$34.9B
$31.0B
Revenue / Capita
$75,389
$47,970
Total Debt
$0
$1.0B
Debt / Capita
$0
$1,574
Population
462,293
646,101
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Long Beach$0
Portland$1,700
Highways & Roads
Long Beach$0
Portland$139
Parks & Recreation
Long Beach$698
Portland$2,477
Health
Long Beach$477
Portland$0

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachPortland
Sales Tax
$36
$1,695
Income Tax
$1,760
$130
Intergovernmental
$1,688
$8,979
Charges & Fees
$2,424
$3,883
Other
$8,836
$7,916

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

Long BeachPortland
Fire Protection
$0
$1,700
Highways & Roads
$0
$139
Public Welfare
$1,317
$3,607
Health
$477
$0
Hospitals
$2,751
$2,893
Parks & Recreation
$698
$2,477
Housing
$5,782
$3,694
Sewerage
$86
$630
Utilities
$3,889
$1,845
Interest on Debt
$2,718
$0
Other
$16,533
$6,689
B
Long Beach, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 67/100
Good fiscal health
C
Portland, OR
Fiscal Health Score: 63/100
Average fiscal health

Compare More Cities

Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.