Salem, OR vs Bend, OR
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Salem, OR spends 37% more per resident than Bend, OR: $15,959 against $11,671. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Bend, OR edges Salem, OR on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 72/100 (grade B) to 68/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
On debt, Bend, OR carries the lighter load at $597 per resident versus $1,019 for Salem, OR. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Salem, OR leads with parks and recreation at $899 per resident, while Bend, OR leads with fire protection at $509.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Salem, OR at 12% of total revenue, whereas Bend, OR relies most on other revenue at 15%.
Summary
Salem spends 36.7% more per capita than Bend ($4,287/person difference). Bend, OR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 72/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $29 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $301 | $96 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,706 | $3,599 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,510 | $2,279 |
| Other | $5,114 | $5,555 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $185 | $509 |
| Highways & Roads | $285 | $315 |
| Education | $0 | $34 |
| Public Welfare | $1,100 | $1,287 |
| Health | $311 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $2,834 | $471 |
| Parks & Recreation | $899 | $0 |
| Housing | $3,037 | $2,520 |
| Sewerage | $317 | $645 |
| Utilities | $1,581 | $1,020 |
| Other | $5,409 | $4,872 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.