Mesa, AZ vs Bakersfield, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Mesa spends 10.3% more per capita than Bakersfield ($1,192/person difference). Mesa, AZ has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
C
56/100
Budget Balance2
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
Mesa
Bakersfield
Total Spending
$6.4B
$4.7B
Spending / Capita
$12,768
$11,576
Total Revenue
$18.0B
$1.6B
Revenue / Capita
$35,688
$3,862
Total Debt
$236.3M
$0
Debt / Capita
$469
$0
Population
503,390
404,321
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Fire Protection
Mesa$422
Bakersfield$0
Highways & Roads
Mesa$192
Bakersfield$0
Parks & Recreation
Mesa$953
Bakersfield$741
Health
Mesa$147
Bakersfield$0
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
MesaBakersfield
| Property Tax | $47 | $1 |
| Sales Tax | $463 | $20 |
| Income Tax | $1,376 | $1,909 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,383 | $3,862 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,334 | $1,024 |
| Other | $2,253 | $1,915 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
MesaBakersfield
| Fire Protection | $422 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $192 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $829 | $840 |
| Health | $147 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $537 | $425 |
| Parks & Recreation | $953 | $741 |
| Housing | $4,190 | $3,391 |
| Sewerage | $38 | $265 |
| Utilities | $2,376 | $2,679 |
| Other | $3,082 | $3,234 |
A
Mesa, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
C
Bakersfield, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 56/100
Average fiscal health