Oakland, CA vs San Diego, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 44% more per resident than Oakland, CA: $43,306 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 53/100 (grade C) for San Diego, CA — a 19-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 San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Oakland, CA at 100% of total revenue, whereas San Diego, CA relies most on other revenue at 39%.
Summary
San Diego spends 30.6% more per capita than Oakland ($13,252/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 | $124 |
| Sales Tax | $522 | $63 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $194 |
| Intergovernmental | $42,277 | $57 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $14 |
| Other | $4,337 | $3,801 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,335 |
| Fire Protection | $1 | $1,278 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $1,408 |
| Education | $0 | $2,005 |
| Public Welfare | $2,426 | $700 |
| Health | $1,016 | $411 |
| Hospitals | $2,498 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $955 | $436 |
| Housing | $7,811 | $4,476 |
| Sewerage | $1,417 | $43 |
| Utilities | $0 | $11,704 |
| Other | $13,929 | $17,509 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.