Majority of U.S. cities ill-prepared for COVID-19 pandemic
Contact: Courtney Fox
312-589-5104
CHICAGO — The 2021 Financial State of the Cities (FSOC) surveys the fiscal health of the 75 largest municipalities in the United States. This data is released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting. TIA analysts draw their data from the fiscal year 2019 audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports on file in city halls across the country, which are not analyzed on this scale by any other organization. The fiscal year 2019 audited Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports show cities financial data prior to the coronavirus pandemic. This new data comes as the federal government is considering additional aid for states and cities.
The 2021 FSOC report found that 13 of the largest cities had more assets than obligations, a key indicator of long-term financial health. The remaining 62 cities carried varying levels of debt, many of them in the billions of dollars range prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
These 62 cities went into the coronavirus pandemic in poor fiscal health, and they will probably come out of the crisis worse. Even the fiscally healthiest cities are projected to lose millions of dollars in revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The uncertainty surrounding this crisis makes it impossible to determine how much will be needed to maintain government services and benefits, but these cities’ overall debt will most likely increase.
Irvine, California had the best city finances in the U.S. with a $370.3 million surplus. If you were hypothetically to divide that figure by the number of Irvine taxpayers, each Irvine taxpayer’s share is $4,100.
Not every city in the United States is so lucky. Many larger and older cities owe billions of dollars to unfunded retirement plans for public sector employees. New York City claimed the prize for worst municipal finances in the United States for the fifth year in a row. Every taxpayer in the Big Apple would have to pay $68,200 in order for the city to pay off all its bills. Chicago (second-worst in the nation) would need each taxpayer to pay $41,100. The average taxpayer burden across all 75 cities in the report works out to $7,355.
“The bottom line is that the majority of cities went into the pandemic in poor fiscal health and they will most likely come out of it even worse,” says Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting.
The full Financial State of the Cities report can be found online here. The full 75 city ranking is also included below:
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Full Ranking |
Alphabetical |
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1. Irvine Taxpayer Surplus: $4,100 2. Washington, DC Taxpayer Surplus: $3,400 3. Lincoln Taxpayer Surplus: $3,400 4. Stockton Taxpayer Surplus: $3,000 5. Charlotte Taxpayer Surplus: $3,000 6. Aurora Taxpayer Surplus: $2,400 7. Fresno Taxpayer Surplus: $2,300 8. Raleigh Taxpayer Surplus: $2,200 9. Plano Taxpayer Surplus: $2,000 10. Tampa Taxpayer Surplus: $1,400 11. Oklahoma City Taxpayer Surplus: $400 12. Wichita Taxpayer Surplus: $100 13. Tulsa Taxpayer Surplus: $17 14. Long Beach Taxpayer Burden: $100 15. Minneapolis Taxpayer Burden: $100 16. Arlington Taxpayer Burden: $200 17. Colorado Springs Taxpayer Burden: $700 18. Greensboro Taxpayer Burden: $1,000 19. Corpus Christi Taxpayer Burden: $1,100 20. Chula Vista Taxpayer Burden: $1,100 21. Orlando Taxpayer Burden: $1,300 22. Bakersfield Taxpayer Burden: $1,400 23. Fort Wayne Taxpayer Burden: $1,600 24. Henderson Taxpayer Burden: $1,700 25. Las Vegas Taxpayer Burden: $1,800 26. Atlanta Taxpayer Burden: $1,900 27. Saint Paul Taxpayer Burden: $2,900 28. Riverside Taxpayer Burden: $3,100 29. Louisville Taxpayer Burden: $3,200 30. Toledo Taxpayer Burden: $3,200 31. Columbus Taxpayer Burden: $3,300 32. Cleveland Taxpayer Burden: $3,400 33. Seattle Taxpayer Burden: $3,400 34. San Antonio Taxpayer Burden: $3,500 35. Sacramento Taxpayer Burden: $3,700 36. Virginia Beach Taxpayer Burden: $3,900 37. Indianapolis Taxpayer Burden: $3,900 38. Los Angeles Taxpayer Burden: $4,000 39. Memphis Taxpayer Burden: $4,300 40. San Diego Taxpayer Burden: $4,700 41. Mesa Taxpayer Burden: $4,900 42. El Paso Taxpayer Burden: $5,200 43. Santa Ana Taxpayer Burden: $5,400 44. Albuquerque Taxpayer Burden: $5,600 45. Denver Taxpayer Burden: $5,800 46. Detroit Taxpayer Burden: $6,100 47. Anaheim Taxpayer Burden: $6,200 48. Anchorage Taxpayer Burden: $6,400 49. Phoenix Taxpayer Burden: $6,500 50. Omaha Taxpayer Burden: $7,500 51. Austin Taxpayer Burden: $7,600 52. Tucson Taxpayer Burden: $8,400 53. Lexington Taxpayer Burden: $9,200 54. Fort Worth Taxpayer Burden: $9,400 55. Jacksonville Taxpayer Burden: $10,100 56. San Jose Taxpayer Burden: $10,300 57. Kansas City, MO Taxpayer Burden: $11,300 58. Houston Taxpayer Burden: $11,600 59. Boston Taxpayer Burden: $12,000 60. Milwaukee Taxpayer Burden: $13,500 61. Dallas Taxpayer Burden: $13,500 62. Miami Taxpayer Burden: $14,200 63. St. Louis Taxpayer Burden: $14,600 64. Cincinnati Taxpayer Burden: $15,200 65. Pittsburgh Taxpayer Burden: $16,000 66. San Francisco Taxpayer Burden: $16,300 67. Oakland Taxpayer Burden: $17,000 68. Baltimore Taxpayer Burden: $18,000 69. New Orleans Taxpayer Burden: $20,000 70. Portland Taxpayer Burden: $20,400 71. Nashville Taxpayer Burden: $22,000 72. Philadelphia Taxpayer Burden: $25,700 73. Honolulu Taxpayer Burden: $29,600 74. Chicago Taxpayer Burden: $41,100 75. New York City Taxpayer Burden: $68,200 |
44. Albuquerque Taxpayer Burden: $5,600 47. Anaheim Taxpayer Burden: $6,200 48. Anchorage Taxpayer Burden: $6,400 16. Arlington Taxpayer Burden: $200 26. Atlanta Taxpayer Burden: $1,900 6. Aurora Taxpayer Surplus: $2,400 51. Austin Taxpayer Burden: $7,600 22. Bakersfield Taxpayer Burden: $1,400 68. Baltimore Taxpayer Burden: $18,000 59. Boston Taxpayer Burden: $12,000 5. Charlotte Taxpayer Surplus: $3,000 74. Chicago Taxpayer Burden: $41,100 20. Chula Vista Taxpayer Burden: $1,100 65. Cincinnati Taxpayer Burden: $15,200 32. Cleveland Taxpayer Burden: $3,400 17. Colorado Springs Taxpayer Burden: $700 31. Columbus Taxpayer Burden: $3,300 19. Corpus Christi Taxpayer Burden: $1,100 61. Dallas Taxpayer Burden: $13,500 45. Denver Taxpayer Burden: $5,800 46. Detroit Taxpayer Burden: $6,100 42. El Paso Taxpayer Burden: $5,200 23. Fort Wayne Taxpayer Burden: $1,600 54. Fort Worth Taxpayer Burden: $9,400 7. Fresno Taxpayer Surplus: $2,300 16. Greensboro Taxpayer Burden: $700 24. Henderson Taxpayer Burden: $1,700 73. Honolulu Taxpayer Burden: $29,600 58. Houston Taxpayer Burden: $11,600 37. Indianapolis Taxpayer Burden: $3,900 1. Irvine Taxpayer Surplus: $4,100 55. Jacksonville Taxpayer Burden: $10,100 57. Kansas City, MO Taxpayer Burden: $11,300 25. Las Vegas Taxpayer Burden: $1,800 53. Lexington Taxpayer Burden: $9,200 3. Lincoln Taxpayer Surplus: $3,400 14. Long Beach Taxpayer Burden: $100 38. Los Angeles Taxpayer Burden: $4,000 29. Louisville Taxpayer Burden: $3,200 39. Memphis Taxpayer Burden: $4,300 41. Mesa Taxpayer Burden: $4,900 62. Miami Taxpayer Burden: $14,200 60. Milwaukee Taxpayer Burden: $13,500 15. Minneapolis Taxpayer Burden: $100 71. Nashville Taxpayer Burden: $22,000 69. New Orleans Taxpayer Burden: $20,000 75. New York City Taxpayer Burden: $68,200 67. Oakland Taxpayer Burden: $17,000 11. Oklahoma City Taxpayer Surplus: $400 50. Omaha Taxpayer Burden: $7,500 21. Orlando Taxpayer Burden: $1,300 72. Philadelphia Taxpayer Burden: $25,700 49. Phoenix Taxpayer Burden: $6,500 65. Pittsburgh Taxpayer Burden: $16,000 9. Plano Taxpayer Surplus: $2,000 70. Portland Taxpayer Burden: $20,400 8. Raleigh Taxpayer Surplus: $2,200 28. Riverside Taxpayer Burden: $3,100 35. Sacramento Taxpayer Burden: $3,700 27. Saint Paul Taxpayer Burden: $2,900 34. San Antonio Taxpayer Burden: $3,500 40. San Diego Taxpayer Burden: $4,700 66. San Francisco Taxpayer Burden: $16,300 56. San Jose Taxpayer Burden: $10,300 43. Santa Ana Taxpayer Burden: $5,400 33. Seattle Taxpayer Burden: $3,400 63. St. Louis Taxpayer Burden: $14,600 4. Stockton Taxpayer Surplus: $3,000 10. Tampa Taxpayer Surplus: $1,400 30. Toledo Taxpayer Burden: $3,200 52. Tucson Taxpayer Burden: $8,400 13. Tulsa Taxpayer Surplus: $17 36. Virginia Beach Taxpayer Burden: $3,900 2. Washington, DC Taxpayer Surplus: $3,400 12. Wichita Taxpayer Surplus: $100 |
The Financial State of the Cities report is an in-depth study of the financial condition in America’s largest cities. Data for this report was derived from cities’ 2019 comprehensive annual financial reports. As of January 19, 2021, Tucson, AZ and New Orleans, LA had not released their 2019 annual financial reports. Therefore, we were forced to use fiscal year 2018 information for these two cities.
Founded in 2002, Truth in Accounting is dedicated to educating and empowering citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information. Sheila Weinberg is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 40 years of experience in the field.