Portland, OR vs Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA outspends Portland, OR by a wide margin per resident — $85,432 versus $23,675, a 261% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Portland, OR holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 63/100 (grade C) against 47/100 (grade D) for Los Angeles, CA — a 16-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Los Angeles, CA 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 Los Angeles, CA leads with police at $4,111.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Portland, OR at 19% of total revenue, whereas Los Angeles, CA relies most on other revenue at 51%.