Portland, OR vs Boston, MA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Boston spends 67.3% more per capita than Portland ($48,624/person difference). Portland, OR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
C
63/100
Budget Balance83
Debt Burden7
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency72
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
C
56/100
Budget Balance25
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
Key Metrics
Metric
Portland
Boston
Total Spending
$15.3B
$48.1B
Spending / Capita
$23,675
$72,299
Total Revenue
$31.0B
$20.8B
Revenue / Capita
$47,970
$31,243
Total Debt
$1.0B
$296.3M
Debt / Capita
$1,574
$445
Population
646,101
665,945
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0
Per Capita Spending by Department
Fire Protection
Portland$1,700
Boston$1,107
Highways & Roads
Portland$139
Boston$594
Parks & Recreation
Portland$2,477
Boston$711
Education
Portland$0
Boston$30,742
Health
Portland$0
Boston$725
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
PortlandBoston
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $78 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $5,357 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $2,784 |
| Other | $7,916 | $4,557 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
PortlandBoston
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $1,107 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $594 |
| Education | $0 | $30,742 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $1,110 |
| Health | $0 | $725 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $2,584 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $711 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $6,614 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $355 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $3,402 |
| General Admin | $0 | $5,401 |
| Other | $6,689 | $18,955 |
C
Portland, OR
Fiscal Health Score: 63/100
Average fiscal health
C
Boston, MA
Fiscal Health Score: 56/100
Average fiscal health