San Jose, CA vs El Paso, TX
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
El Paso, TX spends 35% more per resident than San Jose, CA: $24,259 against $17,934. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
San Jose, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 61/100 (grade C) for El Paso, TX — a 29-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 Jose, CA leads with parks and recreation at $1,424 per resident, while El Paso, TX leads with police at $1,159.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in San Jose, CA at 9% of total revenue, whereas El Paso, TX relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 10%.
Summary
El Paso spends 26.1% more per capita than San Jose ($6,325/person difference). San Jose, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $40 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $315 | $65 |
| Income Tax | $1,935 | $12 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,680 | $690 |
| Charges & Fees | $608 | $31 |
| Other | $3,519 | $550 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,159 |
| Fire Protection | $0 | $233 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $83 |
| Public Welfare | $810 | $299 |
| Health | $609 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $1,254 | $11 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,424 | $151 |
| Housing | $4,897 | $958 |
| Sewerage | $161 | $6 |
| Utilities | $2,533 | $224 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $40 |
| General Admin | $0 | $17,951 |
| Other | $6,247 | $3,145 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.