Miami, FL vs Fresno, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Fresno, CA spends 54% more per resident than Miami, FL: $43,387 against $28,195. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Miami, FL edges Fresno, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 3 points — 53/100 (grade C) to 50/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
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: Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399 per resident, while Fresno, CA leads with education at $3,942.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Miami, FL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Fresno, CA relies most on other revenue at 19%.
Summary
Fresno spends 35.0% more per capita than Miami ($15,192/person difference). Miami, FL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $337 |
| Sales Tax | $1,647 | $19 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $501 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,037 | -$4,470 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $11 |
| Other | $1,399 | $2,070 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,261 |
| Fire Protection | $7,399 | $568 |
| Education | $0 | $3,942 |
| Public Welfare | $109 | $1,946 |
| Health | $0 | $599 |
| Hospitals | $1,499 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,783 | $76 |
| Housing | $6,840 | $2,856 |
| Sewerage | $699 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,295 | $15,340 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $255 |
| Other | $8,572 | $14,545 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.