Skip to main content
Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

Mesa, AZ vs Virginia Beach, VA

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

Summary

Virginia Beach spends 70.0% more per capita than Mesa ($29,747/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
Virginia Beach, VA
Pop. 457,900
D
47/100
Budget Balance28
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity0
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
Mesa
Virginia Beach
Total Spending
$6.4B
$19.5B
Spending / Capita
$12,768
$42,515
Total Revenue
$18.0B
$14.6B
Revenue / Capita
$35,688
$31,808
Total Debt
$236.3M
$135.8M
Debt / Capita
$469
$297
Population
503,390
457,900
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
Mesa$0
Virginia Beach$1,126
Fire Protection
Mesa$422
Virginia Beach$512
Highways & Roads
Mesa$192
Virginia Beach$0
Parks & Recreation
Mesa$953
Virginia Beach$1,574
Education
Mesa$0
Virginia Beach$21,342
Health
Mesa$147
Virginia Beach$426

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

MesaVirginia Beach
Property Tax
$47
$0
Sales Tax
$463
$673
Income Tax
$1,376
$831
Intergovernmental
$1,383
$31,808
Charges & Fees
$3,334
$1,462
Other
$2,253
$3,301

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

MesaVirginia Beach
Police
$0
$1,126
Fire Protection
$422
$512
Highways & Roads
$192
$0
Education
$0
$21,342
Public Welfare
$829
$2,071
Health
$147
$426
Hospitals
$537
$1,036
Parks & Recreation
$953
$1,574
Housing
$4,190
$2,788
Sewerage
$38
$140
Utilities
$2,376
$3,523
Other
$3,082
$7,978
A
Mesa, AZ
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
D
Virginia Beach, VA
Fiscal Health Score: 47/100
Below average fiscal health

Compare More Cities