Miami, FL vs San Jose, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Miami, FL spends 57% more per resident than San Jose, CA: $28,195 against $17,934. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
San Jose, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 53/100 (grade C) for Miami, FL — a 37-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 San Jose, CA leads with parks and recreation at $1,424.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Miami, FL at 100% of total revenue, whereas San Jose, CA relies most on other revenue at 9%.
Summary
Miami spends 57.2% more per capita than San Jose ($10,261/person difference). San Jose, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $40 |
| Sales Tax | $1,647 | $315 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,935 |
| Intergovernmental | $15,037 | $2,680 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $608 |
| Other | $1,399 | $3,519 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $7,399 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $109 | $810 |
| Health | $0 | $609 |
| Hospitals | $1,499 | $1,254 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,783 | $1,424 |
| Housing | $6,840 | $4,897 |
| Sewerage | $699 | $161 |
| Utilities | $1,295 | $2,533 |
| Other | $8,572 | $6,247 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.