Reading, PA vs Erie, PA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Erie spends 62.4% more per capita than Reading ($27,066/person difference). Reading, PA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 86/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $47 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $60 | $0 |
| Income Tax | $956 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $767 | $3,241 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,742 | $0 |
| Other | $6,157 | $6,483 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,410 |
| Fire Protection | $256 | $534 |
| Highways & Roads | $92 | $1,399 |
| Public Welfare | $1,502 | $61 |
| Health | $180 | $788 |
| Hospitals | $672 | $403 |
| Parks & Recreation | $826 | $0 |
| Housing | $4,415 | $0 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $76 |
| Utilities | $3,304 | $21,061 |
| Other | $5,080 | $15,662 |
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.