Oakland, CA vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Oakland, CA spends 24% more per resident than El Paso, TX: $30,055 against $24,259. 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 61/100 (grade C) for El Paso, TX — a 11-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 El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Oakland, CA and 10% in El Paso, TX.
Summary
Oakland spends 23.9% more per capita than El Paso ($5,796/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)
| Sales Tax | $522 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $42,277 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $31 |
| Other | $4,337 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $1 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $2,426 | $299 |
| Health | $1,016 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,498 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $955 | $151 |
| Housing | $7,811 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $1,417 | $6 |
| Utilities | $0 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $13,929 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.