Philadelphia, PA vs Boston, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Boston, MA spends 28% more per resident than Philadelphia, PA: $72,299 against $56,272. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Boston, MA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 56/100 (grade C) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 11-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
On debt, Boston, MA carries the lighter load at $445 per resident versus $1,069 for Philadelphia, PA. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Philadelphia, PA leads with fire protection at $7,082 per resident, while Boston, MA leads with education at $30,742.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 16% of total revenue in Philadelphia, PA and 17% in Boston, MA.
Summary
Boston spends 22.2% more per capita than Philadelphia ($16,027/person difference). Boston, MA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 56/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $107 | $78 |
| Income Tax | $8 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,288 | $5,357 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,790 | $2,784 |
| Other | $4,029 | $4,557 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,505 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $7,082 | $1,107 |
| Highways & Roads | $1,215 | $594 |
| Education | $0 | $30,742 |
| Public Welfare | $1,456 | $1,110 |
| Health | $229 | $725 |
| Hospitals | $4,048 | $2,584 |
| Parks & Recreation | $593 | $711 |
| Housing | $4,902 | $6,614 |
| Sewerage | $325 | $355 |
| Utilities | $4,222 | $3,402 |
| Interest on Debt | $3 | $0 |
| General Admin | $0 | $5,401 |
| Other | $30,692 | $18,955 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.