Portland, OR vs Oakland, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Oakland, CA spends 27% more per resident than Portland, OR: $30,055 against $23,675. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oakland, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 72/100 (grade B) against 63/100 (grade C) for Portland, OR — a 9-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Oakland, 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 Oakland, CA leads with health at $1,016.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Portland, OR and 100% in Oakland, CA.
Summary
Oakland spends 21.2% more per capita than Portland ($6,380/person difference). Oakland, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 72/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $522 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $42,277 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $0 |
| Other | $7,916 | $4,337 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $1 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $2,426 |
| Health | $0 | $1,016 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $2,498 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $955 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $7,811 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $1,417 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $0 |
| Other | $6,689 | $13,929 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.