Philadelphia, PA vs Mesa, AZ

Philadelphia, PA outspends Mesa, AZ by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $12,768, a 341% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Mesa, AZ holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 45-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

On debt, Mesa, AZ carries the lighter load at $469 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 Mesa, AZ leads with parks and recreation at $953.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Mesa, AZ relies most on charges and fees at 9%.