San Diego, CA vs Dallas, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 24% more per resident than Dallas, TX: $43,306 against $34,849. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Dallas, TX edges San Diego, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 57/100 (grade C) to 53/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in San Diego, CA at $3,335 per resident and in Dallas, TX at $1,519.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in San Diego, CA at 39% of total revenue, whereas Dallas, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 22%.
Summary
San Diego spends 24.3% more per capita than Dallas ($8,457/person difference). Dallas, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 57/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $124 | $9 |
| Sales Tax | $63 | $25 |
| Income Tax | $194 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $57 | $1,223 |
| Charges & Fees | $14 | $0 |
| Other | $3,801 | $584 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,335 | $1,519 |
| Fire Protection | $1,278 | $305 |
| Highways & Roads | $1,408 | $201 |
| Education | $2,005 | $62 |
| Public Welfare | $700 | $215 |
| Health | $411 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $385 |
| Parks & Recreation | $436 | $0 |
| Housing | $4,476 | $444 |
| Sewerage | $43 | $0 |
| Utilities | $11,704 | $833 |
| General Admin | $0 | $25,827 |
| Other | $17,509 | $5,059 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.