Philadelphia, PA vs Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA spends 52% more per resident than Philadelphia, PA: $85,432 against $56,272. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.

Los Angeles, CA edges Philadelphia, PA on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 47/100 (grade D) to 45/100 (grade D). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.

Los Angeles, CA 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 Los Angeles, CA leads with police at $4,111.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Los Angeles, CA relies most on other revenue at 51%.