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

Mesa, AZ vs Long Beach, CA

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

Summary

Long Beach spends 62.7% more per capita than Mesa ($21,482/person difference). Mesa, AZ has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
Mesa, AZ
Pop. 503,390
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency100
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Long Beach, CA
Pop. 462,293
B
67/100
Budget Balance52
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency23
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Mesa
Long Beach
Total Spending
$6.4B
$15.8B
Spending / Capita
$12,768
$34,250
Total Revenue
$18.0B
$34.9B
Revenue / Capita
$35,688
$75,389
Total Debt
$236.3M
$0
Debt / Capita
$469
$0
Population
503,390
462,293
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
Mesa$422
Long Beach$0
Highways & Roads
Mesa$192
Long Beach$0
Parks & Recreation
Mesa$953
Long Beach$698
Health
Mesa$147
Long Beach$477

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

MesaLong Beach
Property Tax
$47
$0
Sales Tax
$463
$36
Income Tax
$1,376
$1,760
Intergovernmental
$1,383
$1,688
Charges & Fees
$3,334
$2,424
Other
$2,253
$8,836

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

MesaLong Beach
Fire Protection
$422
$0
Highways & Roads
$192
$0
Public Welfare
$829
$1,317
Health
$147
$477
Hospitals
$537
$2,751
Parks & Recreation
$953
$698
Housing
$4,190
$5,782
Sewerage
$38
$86
Utilities
$2,376
$3,889
Interest on Debt
$0
$2,718
Other
$3,082
$16,533
A
Mesa, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
B
Long Beach, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 67/100
Good fiscal health

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