Portsmouth, VA vs Norfolk, VA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Norfolk spends 8.2% more per capita than Portsmouth ($4,175/person difference). Portsmouth, VA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $0 | $97 |
| Sales Tax | $291 | $1,289 |
| Income Tax | $2,119 | $896 |
| Intergovernmental | $12 | $4,946 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,606 | $4,679 |
| Other | $2,972 | $3,596 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,848 | $1,718 |
| Fire Protection | $450 | $832 |
| Highways & Roads | $954 | $1,186 |
| Education | $20,569 | $19,019 |
| Public Welfare | $1,406 | $1,311 |
| Health | $270 | $519 |
| Hospitals | $3,784 | $5,390 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,573 | $1,601 |
| Housing | $3,282 | $3,939 |
| Sewerage | $298 | $96 |
| Utilities | $4,446 | $5,495 |
| Interest on Debt | $63 | $0 |
| Other | $7,760 | $9,773 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.