Miami, FL vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA spends 21% more per resident than Miami, FL: $34,250 against $28,195. 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 Miami, FL — 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: Miami, FL leads with fire protection at $7,399 per resident, while Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Miami, FL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 17.7% more per capita than Miami ($6,055/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 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $1,647 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,037 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $2,424 |
| Other | $1,399 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $7,399 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $109 | $1,317 |
| Health | $0 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $1,499 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,783 | $698 |
| Housing | $6,840 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $699 | $86 |
| Utilities | $1,295 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $8,572 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.