Philadelphia, PA vs San Jose, CA

Philadelphia, PA outspends San Jose, CA by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $17,934, a 214% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

San Jose, CA 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.

San Jose, 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 San Jose, CA leads with parks and recreation at $1,424.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas San Jose, CA relies most on other revenue at 9%.