San Diego, CA vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
San Diego, CA spends 26% more per resident than Long Beach, CA: $43,306 against $34,250. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Long Beach, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 67/100 (grade B) against 53/100 (grade C) for San Diego, CA — a 14-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: San Diego, CA leads with police at $3,335 per resident, while Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on other revenue — 39% of total revenue in San Diego, CA and 12% in Long Beach, CA.
Summary
San Diego spends 26.4% more per capita than Long Beach ($9,056/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $124 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $63 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $194 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $57 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $14 | $2,424 |
| Other | $3,801 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,335 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $1,278 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $1,408 | $0 |
| Education | $2,005 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $700 | $1,317 |
| Health | $411 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $436 | $698 |
| Housing | $4,476 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $43 | $86 |
| Utilities | $11,704 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $17,509 | $16,533 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.