San Antonio, TX vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA outspends San Antonio, TX by a wide margin per resident — $34,250 versus $16,943, a 102% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
San Antonio, TX edges Long Beach, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 68/100 (grade B) to 67/100 (grade B). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while San Antonio, TX carries $2,131 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in San Antonio, TX at $1,045 per resident and in Long Beach, CA at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in San Antonio, TX at 17% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 50.5% more per capita than San Antonio ($17,307/person difference). San Antonio, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 68/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $9 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $293 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $1,000 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,312 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $4,025 | $2,424 |
| Other | $3,184 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $396 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $158 | $0 |
| Education | $23 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,188 | $1,317 |
| Health | $293 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $993 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,045 | $698 |
| Housing | $3,570 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $100 | $86 |
| Utilities | $3,826 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $5,352 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.