Portland, OR vs Seattle, WA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Seattle, WA spends 46% more per resident than Portland, OR: $34,463 against $23,675. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Portland, OR edges Seattle, WA 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, Seattle, WA carries the lighter load at $1,100 per resident versus $1,574 for Portland, OR. 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 Seattle, WA at $3,923.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Portland, OR and 13% in Seattle, WA.
Summary
Seattle spends 31.3% more per capita than Portland ($10,788/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 | $1,831 |
| Sales Tax | $1,695 | $1,094 |
| Income Tax | $130 | $3,496 |
| Intergovernmental | $8,979 | $9,846 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,883 | $3,960 |
| Other | $7,916 | $8,544 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $1,700 | $210 |
| Highways & Roads | $139 | $0 |
| Education | $0 | $1,461 |
| Public Welfare | $3,607 | $3,439 |
| Health | $0 | $1,131 |
| Hospitals | $2,893 | $1,871 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,477 | $3,923 |
| Housing | $3,694 | $3,727 |
| Sewerage | $630 | $952 |
| Utilities | $1,845 | $6,489 |
| Other | $6,689 | $11,260 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.