Philadelphia, PA vs Indianapolis city (balance), IN

Philadelphia, PA spends 22% more per resident than Indianapolis city (balance), IN: $56,272 against $46,045. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Indianapolis city (balance), IN holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 74/100 (grade B) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 29-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

On debt, Indianapolis city (balance), IN carries the lighter load at $577 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 Indianapolis city (balance), IN leads with police at $2,032.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Indianapolis city (balance), IN relies most on other revenue at 6%.