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

Updated April 2026 · U.S. Census Bureau data

Florida City Spending Rankings

Florida has 80 cities with 50,000 or more residents covered by CitySpend, totaling 9.1M in covered population. The average Fiscal Health Score across these cities is 56/100, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. Florida's covered cities post an average Fiscal Health Score of 56/100 (grade C), squarely in the middle of the national distribution. Some Florida cities are running clean books and adequately funded pensions; others are showing strain on debt service or pension contributions. The split is visible in the rankings below.

View full data profile for Florida →
Cities
80
Total Population
9.1M
Avg Fiscal Score
56/100
Total Police Spending
$406.8M

Florida Fiscal Profile

Across all covered Florida cities, the largest aggregate spending categories are fire protection at $38.9B and parks at $12.5B. That mix reflects Florida's overall service-delivery model, in some states police and fire dominate; in others, education or roads take the largest aggregate share when cities operate their own school districts.

Healthiest and Most Stressed Cities

Top Fiscal Performers

Deltona94K
A
St. Petersburg259K
B
Fort Myers89K
B
Homestead80K
B
Winter Haven51K
B

Most Fiscally Stressed

Tampa389K
F
Boca Raton98K
D
Sunrise97K
D
Delray Beach67K
D
Hollywood153K
D

All 80 Cities in Florida

Jacksonville, FL

Pop. 950K

C
Total Spending
$29.9B
Per Capita
$31,456

Miami, FL

Pop. 444K

C
Total Spending
$12.5B
Per Capita
$28,195

Tampa, FL

Pop. 389K

F
Total Spending
$11.9B
Per Capita
$30,690

Orlando, FL

Pop. 308K

B
Total Spending
$9.6B
Per Capita
$31,123

St. Petersburg, FL

Pop. 259K

B
Total Spending
$5.7B
Per Capita
$21,836

Hialeah, FL

Pop. 223K

C
Total Spending
$2.3B
Per Capita
$10,232

Port St. Lucie, FL

Pop. 211K

C

Cape Coral, FL

Pop. 199K

B
Total Spending
$2.9B
Per Capita
$14,436

Tallahassee, FL

Pop. 198K

C
Total Spending
$5.9B
Per Capita
$29,857

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Pop. 183K

C
Total Spending
$6.8B
Per Capita
$37,099

Pembroke Pines, FL

Pop. 170K

D
Total Spending
$4.0B
Per Capita
$23,266

Hollywood, FL

Pop. 153K

D
Total Spending
$4.4B
Per Capita
$28,774

Gainesville, FL

Pop. 142K

B
Total Spending
$3.3B
Per Capita
$23,485

Miramar, FL

Pop. 135K

B
Total Spending
$2.3B
Per Capita
$16,869

Coral Springs, FL

Pop. 134K

C
Total Spending
$2.1B
Per Capita
$15,676

Lehigh Acres, FL

Pop. 124K

C

Palm Bay, FL

Pop. 122K

B
Total Spending
$1.0B
Per Capita
$8,594

West Palm Beach, FL

Pop. 118K

B
Total Spending
$3.2B
Per Capita
$27,038

Clearwater, FL

Pop. 117K

C
Total Spending
$3.1B
Per Capita
$26,287

Spring Hill, FL

Pop. 117K

C

Brandon, FL

Pop. 115K

C

Lakeland, FL

Pop. 114K

B
Total Spending
$3.4B
Per Capita
$30,153

Pompano Beach, FL

Pop. 112K

C
Total Spending
$3.1B
Per Capita
$28,033

Miami Gardens, FL

Pop. 112K

C

Davie, FL

Pop. 106K

B
Total Spending
$2.0B
Per Capita
$18,757

Riverview, FL

Pop. 102K

C

Boca Raton, FL

Pop. 98K

D
Total Spending
$3.8B
Per Capita
$38,696

Sunrise, FL

Pop. 97K

D
Total Spending
$2.3B
Per Capita
$23,839

Deltona, FL

Pop. 94K

A
Total Spending
$648.7M
Per Capita
$6,874

Plantation, FL

Pop. 93K

C
Total Spending
$1.6B
Per Capita
$16,752

Alafaya, FL

Pop. 92K

C

Palm Coast, FL

Pop. 91K

C

Town 'n' Country, FL

Pop. 89K

C

Fort Myers, FL

Pop. 89K

B
Total Spending
$2.3B
Per Capita
$25,774

Deerfield Beach, FL

Pop. 86K

C
Total Spending
$1.5B
Per Capita
$17,488

Melbourne, FL

Pop. 85K

B
Total Spending
$1.2B
Per Capita
$14,111

Pine Hills, FL

Pop. 83K

C

Largo, FL

Pop. 83K

C
Total Spending
$1.4B
Per Capita
$17,480

Miami Beach, FL

Pop. 82K

C
Total Spending
$7.4B
Per Capita
$89,503

Boynton Beach, FL

Pop. 80K

B
Total Spending
$1.7B
Per Capita
$21,349

Homestead, FL

Pop. 80K

B
Total Spending
$977.9M
Per Capita
$12,224

The Villages, FL

Pop. 79K

C

Kissimmee, FL

Pop. 78K

C
Total Spending
$2.1B
Per Capita
$26,522

Kendall, FL

Pop. 78K

C

North Port, FL

Pop. 77K

C
Total Spending
$1.4B
Per Capita
$17,621

Doral, FL

Pop. 75K

C

Lauderhill, FL

Pop. 74K

B
Total Spending
$1.1B
Per Capita
$14,340

Daytona Beach, FL

Pop. 73K

B
Total Spending
$1.7B
Per Capita
$23,668

Tamarac, FL

Pop. 72K

C
Total Spending
$1.0B
Per Capita
$14,521

Poinciana, FL

Pop. 69K

C

Wesley Chapel, FL

Pop. 69K

C

Weston, FL

Pop. 68K

C
Total Spending
$902.2M
Per Capita
$13,261

Delray Beach, FL

Pop. 67K

D
Total Spending
$3.2B
Per Capita
$47,360

Port Charlotte, FL

Pop. 64K

C

Ocala, FL

Pop. 64K

D
Total Spending
$2.2B
Per Capita
$34,878

Port Orange, FL

Pop. 63K

C
Total Spending
$639.8M
Per Capita
$10,180

Palm Harbor, FL

Pop. 62K

C

Wellington, FL

Pop. 61K

C

Sanford, FL

Pop. 61K

B
Total Spending
$811.6M
Per Capita
$13,246

Jupiter, FL

Pop. 61K

C
Total Spending
$933.4M
Per Capita
$15,320

North Miami, FL

Pop. 60K

C
Total Spending
$730.9M
Per Capita
$12,211

St. Cloud, FL

Pop. 60K

C
Total Spending
$1.1B
Per Capita
$18,853

The Hammocks, FL

Pop. 60K

C

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Pop. 59K

C
Total Spending
$1.1B
Per Capita
$19,342

Horizon West, FL

Pop. 59K

C

Margate, FL

Pop. 58K

C

Coconut Creek, FL

Pop. 58K

C
Total Spending
$640.4M
Per Capita
$11,122

Fountainebleau, FL

Pop. 57K

C

Four Corners, FL

Pop. 57K

C

Bradenton, FL

Pop. 56K

C

Sarasota, FL

Pop. 56K

C
Total Spending
$9.3B
Per Capita
$168,190

Apopka, FL

Pop. 55K

B
Total Spending
$720.9M
Per Capita
$13,093

Pensacola, FL

Pop. 54K

C
Total Spending
$1.4B
Per Capita
$25,060

Bonita Springs, FL

Pop. 54K

C

Westchester, FL

Pop. 54K

C

Pinellas Park, FL

Pop. 53K

C
Total Spending
$687.7M
Per Capita
$12,889

Tamiami, FL

Pop. 53K

C

Kendale Lakes, FL

Pop. 53K

C

Country Club, FL

Pop. 51K

C

Winter Haven, FL

Pop. 51K

B
Total Spending
$800.5M
Per Capita
$15,766

How These Rankings Are Calculated

City Fiscal Health Scores combine budget balance and reserves (25%), debt burden per capita (20%), pension funded ratio (20%), spending efficiency (15%), revenue diversity (10%), and three-year trend direction (10%). All inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. For the largest cities, we cross-reference the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities database to adjust for school-district and county overlap. Pension data comes from the Public Plans Database. Best-practice weighting follows guidance from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Read the full methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cities in Florida are covered by CitySpend?

CitySpend covers 80 cities in Florida with 50,000 or more residents, totaling 9.1M in population. Smaller municipalities, towns, and unincorporated areas are excluded from the dataset.

What is Florida's average Fiscal Health Score?

Florida's 80 covered cities post an average Fiscal Health Score of 56/100. The score combines budget balance and reserves, debt burden per capita, pension funding, spending efficiency, revenue diversity, and three-year trend direction. Each city is benchmarked against population peers, so a 200,000-resident city is compared to other mid-size cities, not against the largest cities in the country.

Where does Florida city spending data come from?

Every figure on this page is drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, with population estimates from the American Community Survey. For the largest cities, we cross-reference the Lincoln Institute's Fiscally Standardized Cities database to adjust for school-district overlap. Federal grant flows come from USASpending.gov; pension data, where available, comes from the Public Plans Database.

Which Florida cities have the strongest fiscal health?

Deltona (A), St. Petersburg (B), Fort Myers (B) rank among the top fiscal performers in Florida. Strong scores typically pair balanced budgets with low debt-per-capita and well-funded pensions. See the rankings below for the full list.

Which Florida cities are most fiscally stressed?

Tampa (F), Boca Raton (D), Sunrise (D) rank toward the bottom of the Florida fiscal health distribution. Common stress signals include pension underfunding, elevated debt service, and revenue concentration in a single tax source. A low score is a screening signal, not a verdict, always read the city's audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (ACFR) before drawing conclusions.

Florida has 80 cities with 50,000 or more residents covered by CitySpend, totaling 9.1M in covered population. The average Fiscal Health Score across these cities is 56/100, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. Florida's covered cities post an average Fiscal Health Score of 56/100 (grade C), squarely in the middle of the national distribution. Some Florida cities are running clean books and adequately funded pensions; others are showing strain on debt service or pension contributions. The split is visible in the rankings below.

The this entity record above pulls directly from the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. municipal and county government finances distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.

The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.

Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. cities, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.