Salem, OR vs Bend, OR
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
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
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.