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

San Jose, CA vs Detroit, MI

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

Summary

Detroit spends 42.3% more per capita than San Jose ($13,153/person difference). San Jose, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).

Fiscal Health Score

City A
San Jose, CA
Pop. 1,001,176
A
90/100
Budget Balance100
Debt Burden100
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency98
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50
City B
Detroit, MI
Pop. 636,787
B
69/100
Budget Balance70
Debt Burden79
Pension Funding76
Spending Efficiency38
Revenue Diversity100
Trend Direction50

Key Metrics

Metric
San Jose
Detroit
Total Spending
$18.0B
$19.8B
Spending / Capita
$17,934
$31,087
Total Revenue
$38.1B
$28.4B
Revenue / Capita
$38,091
$44,533
Total Debt
$0
$493.9M
Debt / Capita
$0
$776
Population
1,001,176
636,787
Gov Employees / 10K
0.0
0.0
Avg Gov Salary
$0
$0

Per Capita Spending by Department

Fire Protection
San Jose$0
Detroit$2,429
Parks & Recreation
San Jose$1,424
Detroit$950
Health
San Jose$609
Detroit$396

Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)

San JoseDetroit
Property Tax
$40
$44
Sales Tax
$315
$200
Income Tax
$1,935
$1,045
Intergovernmental
$2,680
$291
Charges & Fees
$608
$2,228
Other
$3,519
$6,892

Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)

San JoseDetroit
Fire Protection
$0
$2,429
Public Welfare
$810
$833
Health
$609
$396
Hospitals
$1,254
$2,217
Parks & Recreation
$1,424
$950
Housing
$4,897
$5,791
Sewerage
$161
$451
Utilities
$2,533
$2,737
Interest on Debt
$0
$2,068
Other
$6,247
$13,216
A
San Jose, CA
Fiscal Health Score: 90/100
Excellent fiscal health
B
Detroit, MI
Fiscal Health Score: 69/100
Good fiscal health

Compare More Cities