Long Beach, CA vs San Diego, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 26% more per resident than Long Beach, CA: $43,306 against $34,250. 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 San Diego, CA — 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 San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 12% of total revenue in Long Beach, CA and 39% in San Diego, CA.
Summary
San Diego spends 20.9% more per capita than Long Beach ($9,056/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 | $124 |
| Sales Tax | $36 | $63 |
| Income Tax | $1,760 | $194 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,688 | $57 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,424 | $14 |
| Other | $8,836 | $3,801 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,335 |
| Fire Protection | $0 | $1,278 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $1,408 |
| Education | $0 | $2,005 |
| Public Welfare | $1,317 | $700 |
| Health | $477 | $411 |
| Hospitals | $2,751 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $698 | $436 |
| Housing | $5,782 | $4,476 |
| Sewerage | $86 | $43 |
| Utilities | $3,889 | $11,704 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,718 | $0 |
| Other | $16,533 | $17,509 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.