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

San Diego, CA vs Sacramento, CA

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

Summary

Sacramento spends 39.0% more per capita than San Diego ($27,714/person difference). Sacramento, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 57/100).

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
Sacramento, CA
Pop. 523,600
C
57/100
Budget Balance29
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
San Diego
Sacramento
Total Spending
$59.9B
$37.2B
Spending / Capita
$43,306
$71,020
Total Revenue
$13.4B
$33.3B
Revenue / Capita
$9,662
$63,682
Total Debt
$0
$0
Debt / Capita
$0
$0
Population
1,383,987
523,600
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
San Diego$3,335
Sacramento$5,402
Fire Protection
San Diego$1,278
Sacramento$2,466
Highways & Roads
San Diego$1,408
Sacramento$0
Parks & Recreation
San Diego$436
Sacramento$1,437
Education
San Diego$2,005
Sacramento$2,684
Health
San Diego$411
Sacramento$18

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

San DiegoSacramento
Property Tax
$124
$1,465
Sales Tax
$63
$378
Income Tax
$194
$3,104
Intergovernmental
$57
$3,400
Charges & Fees
$14
$3,239
Other
$3,801
$5,072

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

San DiegoSacramento
Police
$3,335
$5,402
Fire Protection
$1,278
$2,466
Highways & Roads
$1,408
$0
Education
$2,005
$2,684
Public Welfare
$700
$3,470
Health
$411
$18
Parks & Recreation
$436
$1,437
Housing
$4,476
$8,577
Sewerage
$43
$103
Utilities
$11,704
$19,920
Interest on Debt
$0
$162
Other
$17,509
$26,782
C
San Diego, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health
C
Sacramento, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 57/100
Average fiscal health

Compare More Cities