Portland, OR vs Charlotte, NC
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Portland, OR spends 49% more per resident than Charlotte, NC: $23,675 against $15,854. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Portland, OR and Charlotte, NC both land at 63/100 (grade C and C respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
On debt, Portland, OR carries the lighter load at $1,574 per resident versus $2,690 for Charlotte, NC. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Portland, OR at $2,477 per resident and in Charlotte, NC at $1,571.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Portland, OR at 19% of total revenue, whereas Charlotte, NC relies most on other revenue at 10%.
Summary
Portland spends 49.3% more per capita than Charlotte ($7,821/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $541 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $366 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $1,859 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $2,459 |
| Other | $7,916 | $4,866 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $463 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $41 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $672 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $1,243 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $1,571 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $3,944 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $2,244 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,226 |
| Other | $6,689 | $3,448 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.