Philadelphia, PA vs Reading, PA

Philadelphia, PA outspends Reading, PA by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $16,327, a 245% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Reading, PA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 86/100 (grade A) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 41-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

On debt, Reading, PA carries the lighter load at $87 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 Reading, PA leads with parks and recreation at $826.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Reading, PA relies most on other revenue at 28%.