Truth in Accounting

Bakersfield, CA

TIA Data

2019 Financial State of Bakersfield (Released 1/26/2021)

Use Create Your Own City Chart to see additional financial, demographic and economic data for this and other cities

 
Bakersfield's Taxpayer Burden™ is -$1,400, and it received a "C" from TIA.
Bakersfield is a Sinkhole City without enough assets to cover its debt.
Decisions by elected officials have created a Taxpayer Burden™, which is each taxpayer's share of city bills after its available assets have been tapped.
TIA's Taxpayer Burden™ measurement incorporates all assets and liabilities, including retirement obligations.
Bakersfield only has $507.7 million of assets available to pay bills totaling $677.8 million.
Because Bakersfield doesn't have enough money to pay its bills, it has a $170.1 million financial hole. To erase this shortfall, each Bakersfield taxpayer would have to send $1,400 to the city.
Bakersfield's reported net position is inflated by $84 million, largely because the city defers recognizing losses incurred when retirement liabilities increase.
The city's financial report was released 173 days after its fiscal year end, which is considered timely according to the 180 day standard.
 

Prior Years' TIA Data

2018 Financial State of Bakersfield

2017 Financial State of Bakersfield

2016 Financial State of Bakersfield

Other Resources

Bakersfield Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports

Publishing Entity: Finance Department

IN THE NEWS
Majority of U.S. cities ill-prepared for COVID-19 pandemic

JANUARY 26, 2021

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.

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