Philadelphia, PA vs Boston, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
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
D
45/100
Budget Balance17
Debt Burden53
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
C
56/100
Budget Balance25
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
Philadelphia
Boston
Total Spending
$89.7B
$48.1B
Spending / Capita
$56,272
$72,299
Total Revenue
$64.4B
$20.8B
Revenue / Capita
$40,425
$31,243
Total Debt
$1.7B
$296.3M
Debt / Capita
$1,069
$445
Population
1,593,208
665,945
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Police
Philadelphia$1,505
Boston$0
Fire Protection
Philadelphia$7,082
Boston$1,107
Highways & Roads
Philadelphia$1,215
Boston$594
Parks & Recreation
Philadelphia$593
Boston$711
Education
Philadelphia$0
Boston$30,742
Health
Philadelphia$229
Boston$725
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
PhiladelphiaBoston
| 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)
PhiladelphiaBoston
| 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 |
D
Philadelphia, PA
Fiscal Health Score: 45/100
Below average fiscal health
C
Boston, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 56/100
Average fiscal health