Portland, OR vs Chicago, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Chicago, IL spends 46% more per resident than Portland, OR: $34,551 against $23,675. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Portland, OR edges Chicago, IL on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 61/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Chicago, IL carries the lighter load at $977 per resident versus $1,574 for Portland, OR. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Portland, OR leads with parks and recreation at $2,477 per resident, while Chicago, IL leads with fire protection at $10,754.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Portland, OR and 100% in Chicago, IL.
Summary
Chicago spends 31.5% more per capita than Portland ($10,877/person difference). Portland, OR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $26 |
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $74 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $229 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $85,083 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $2,847 |
| Other | $7,916 | $3,463 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $10,754 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $930 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $1,858 |
| Health | $0 | $426 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $1,444 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $122 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $6,520 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $129 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $2,983 |
| Other | $6,689 | $9,385 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.