Skip to main content
Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

San Diego, CA vs Austin, TX

Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)

Summary

San Diego spends 98.9% more per capita than Austin ($21,534/person difference). Austin, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 75/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
San Diego, CA
Pop. 1,383,987
C
53/100
Budget Balance14
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity96
Trend Direction50
City B
Austin, TX
Pop. 958,202
B
75/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden38
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency80
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
San Diego
Austin
Total Spending
$59.9B
$20.9B
Spending / Capita
$43,306
$21,772
Total Revenue
$13.4B
$74.4B
Revenue / Capita
$9,662
$77,600
Total Debt
$0
$1.2B
Debt / Capita
$0
$1,229
Population
1,383,987
958,202
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
San Diego$3,335
Austin$0
Fire Protection
San Diego$1,278
Austin$634
Highways & Roads
San Diego$1,408
Austin$0
Parks & Recreation
San Diego$436
Austin$1,801
Education
San Diego$2,005
Austin$51
Health
San Diego$411
Austin$517

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

San DiegoAustin
Property Tax
$124
$0
Sales Tax
$63
$526
Income Tax
$194
$1,465
Intergovernmental
$57
$14,031
Charges & Fees
$14
$3,247
Other
$3,801
$5,645

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

San DiegoAustin
Police
$3,335
$0
Fire Protection
$1,278
$634
Highways & Roads
$1,408
$0
Education
$2,005
$51
Public Welfare
$700
$1,837
Health
$411
$517
Hospitals
$0
$664
Parks & Recreation
$436
$1,801
Housing
$4,476
$3,741
Sewerage
$43
$865
Utilities
$11,704
$3,264
Other
$17,509
$8,399
C
San Diego, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
B
Austin, TX
Fiscal Health Score: 75/100
Good fiscal health

Compare More Cities