San Diego, CA vs Albuquerque, NM

San Diego, CA outspends Albuquerque, NM by a wide margin per resident — $43,306 versus $17,237, a 151% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Albuquerque, NM holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 81/100 (grade A) against 53/100 (grade C) for San Diego, CA — a 28-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

San Diego, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Albuquerque, NM carries $613 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335 per resident, while Albuquerque, NM leads with parks and recreation at $1,990.

They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in San Diego, CA at 39% of total revenue, whereas Albuquerque, NM relies most on charges and fees at 11%.