Oakland, CA vs Dallas, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Dallas, TX spends 16% more per resident than Oakland, CA: $34,849 against $30,055. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oakland, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 72/100 (grade B) against 57/100 (grade C) for Dallas, TX — a 15-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: Oakland, CA leads with health at $1,016 per resident, while Dallas, TX leads with police at $1,519.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Oakland, CA and 22% in Dallas, TX.
Summary
Dallas spends 13.8% more per capita than Oakland ($4,795/person difference). Oakland, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 72/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $9 |
| Sales Tax | $522 | $25 |
| Intergovernmental | $42,277 | $1,223 |
| Other | $4,337 | $584 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,519 |
| Fire Protection | $1 | $305 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $201 |
| Education | $0 | $62 |
| Public Welfare | $2,426 | $215 |
| Health | $1,016 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,498 | $385 |
| Parks & Recreation | $955 | $0 |
| Housing | $7,811 | $444 |
| Sewerage | $1,417 | $0 |
| Utilities | $0 | $833 |
| General Admin | $0 | $25,827 |
| Other | $13,929 | $5,059 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.