Miami, FL vs San Diego, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 54% more per resident than Miami, FL: $43,306 against $28,195. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Miami, FL and San Diego, CA both land at 53/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
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 San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Miami, FL at 100% of total revenue, whereas San Diego, CA relies most on other revenue at 39%.
Summary
San Diego spends 34.9% more per capita than Miami ($15,111/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $124 |
| Sales Tax | $1,647 | $63 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $194 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,037 | $57 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $14 |
| Other | $1,399 | $3,801 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,335 |
| Fire Protection | $7,399 | $1,278 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $1,408 |
| Education | $0 | $2,005 |
| Public Welfare | $109 | $700 |
| Health | $0 | $411 |
| Hospitals | $1,499 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,783 | $436 |
| Housing | $6,840 | $4,476 |
| Sewerage | $699 | $43 |
| Utilities | $1,295 | $11,704 |
| Other | $8,572 | $17,509 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.