Portland, OR vs Dallas, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Dallas, TX spends 47% more per resident than Portland, OR: $34,849 against $23,675. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Portland, OR edges Dallas, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 6 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 57/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Dallas, TX reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Portland, OR carries $1,574 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Portland, OR leads with parks and recreation at $2,477 per resident, while Dallas, TX leads with police at $1,519.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Portland, OR and 22% in Dallas, TX.
Summary
Dallas spends 32.1% more per capita than Portland ($11,175/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 | $9 |
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $25 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $1,223 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $0 |
| Other | $7,916 | $584 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,519 |
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $305 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $201 |
| Education | $0 | $62 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $215 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $385 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $0 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $444 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $833 |
| General Admin | $0 | $25,827 |
| Other | $6,689 | $5,059 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.