Virginia Beach, VA vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Virginia Beach, VA spends 24% more per resident than Long Beach, CA: $42,515 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 47/100 (grade D) for Virginia Beach, VA — a 20-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Virginia Beach, VA carries $297 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Virginia Beach, VA leads with education at $21,342 per resident, while Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Virginia Beach, VA at 100% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Virginia Beach spends 24.1% more per capita than Long Beach ($8,265/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)
| Sales Tax | $673 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $831 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $31,808 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,462 | $2,424 |
| Other | $3,301 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,126 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $512 | $0 |
| Education | $21,342 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,071 | $1,317 |
| Health | $426 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $1,036 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,574 | $698 |
| Housing | $2,788 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $140 | $86 |
| Utilities | $3,523 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $7,978 | $16,533 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.