Philadelphia, PA vs Allentown, PA

Philadelphia, PA outspends Allentown, PA by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $15,252, a 269% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Allentown, PA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 68/100 (grade B) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 23-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Allentown, PA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Philadelphia, PA carries $1,069 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Philadelphia, PA leads with fire protection at $7,082 per resident, while Allentown, PA leads with parks and recreation at $620.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Allentown, PA relies most on other revenue at 42%.