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Data from U.S. Census Bureau · 2026 · Methodology
CitySpend

San Francisco, CA vs San Diego, CA

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

Summary

San Francisco spends 325.2% more per capita than San Diego ($140,825/person difference). San Diego, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 53/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
San Francisco, CA
Pop. 851,036
D
48/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden0
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
San Diego, CA
Pop. 1,383,987
C
53/100
Budget Balance14
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency0
Revenue Diversity96
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
San Francisco
San Diego
Total Spending
$156.7B
$59.9B
Spending / Capita
$184,131
$43,306
Total Revenue
$232.3B
$13.4B
Revenue / Capita
$272,907
$9,662
Total Debt
$1.7B
$0
Debt / Capita
$2,031
$0
Population
851,036
1,383,987
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Police
San Francisco$3,351
San Diego$3,335
Fire Protection
San Francisco$2,281
San Diego$1,278
Highways & Roads
San Francisco$0
San Diego$1,408
Parks & Recreation
San Francisco$4,119
San Diego$436
Education
San Francisco$0
San Diego$2,005
Health
San Francisco$1,911
San Diego$411

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

San FranciscoSan Diego
Property Tax
$148
$124
Sales Tax
$3,028
$63
Income Tax
$269
$194
Intergovernmental
$19,762
$57
Charges & Fees
$7,961
$14
Other
$18,918
$3,801

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

San FranciscoSan Diego
Police
$3,351
$3,335
Fire Protection
$2,281
$1,278
Highways & Roads
$0
$1,408
Education
$0
$2,005
Public Welfare
$2,203
$700
Health
$1,911
$411
Hospitals
$6,939
$0
Parks & Recreation
$4,119
$436
Housing
$9,315
$4,476
Sewerage
$1,423
$43
Utilities
$21,190
$11,704
Interest on Debt
$22,798
$0
General Admin
$14,899
$0
Other
$93,702
$17,509
D
San Francisco, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 48/100
Below average fiscal health
C
San Diego, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 53/100
Average fiscal health

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