New report on the financial state of the 75 largest U.S. cities finds the majority of cities are in debt

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, February 27, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2025 Financial State of the Cities surveys the fiscal health of the 75 largest municipalities in the United States. Released today by Truth in Accounting (TIA), a think tank that analyzes government financial reporting. This report is based on audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports from city halls across the country. TIA analysts use this data to offer insights into each city’s overall financial health, including pension obligations, with no other organization conducting such a comprehensive analysis on this scale.

The Financial State of the Cities report found that 54 cities did not have enough money to pay their bills. Each city has some form of a balanced budget requirement, but this new report shows that cities have not met the intent of their requirement and have pushed costs onto future taxpayers.

The cities’ poor financial health also affects city workers' retirement plans, like those for teachers, firefighters, and police officers. For many cities, any economic gains were offset by increases in their pension liabilities, which were caused in large part due to decreases in the market value of pension investments. Over the past few years, investment market values have swung dramatically. These
liabilities now account for more than half of cities’ non-capital debt and are laden with risks and uncertainties that often lie beyond the control of legislators, taxpayers, and even those managing the plans. In 2023, this volatility and uncertainty surrounding projections of future benefit payments negatively impacted most cities' financial condition, including pension debt. This highlights the challenges cities face in managing pension obligations, as well as the potential burden on taxpayers and the uncertainty for city workers who depend on these plans for their retirement.

Some cities, however, did have enough money to weather the market volatility. Washington, DC, which ranked no. 1 among the 75 largest cities, had a surplus of $2.5 billion. If you were to divide that figure by the number of DC taxpayers, hypothetically, each taxpayer’s share is $9,000. Truth in Accounting calls this calculation a Taxpayer Surplus™.

Not every city in the United States is so lucky. Many larger and older cities owe billions of dollars to underfunded retirement plans for public sector employees. New York City claimed the prize for worst municipal finances in the United States for the seventh year in a row. Every taxpayer in the Big Apple would have to pay $56,800 in order for the city to pay off all its bills. Truth in Accounting calls this calculation a Taxpayer Burden™.

“Most cities are financially underwater due to underfunded pension and retiree healthcare promises, leaving taxpayers and city workers at risk of higher taxes, reduced services, lower benefits, and long-term financial instability,” says Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting. “With mounting unfunded pension debt and growing reliance on federal support, Congress should consider extending ERISA protections to cities to help mitigate these risks.”

The full Financial State of the Cities report can be found online. The full 75-city list is also included below:

Albuquerque, NM Taxpayer Burden: $4,000
Anaheim, CA Taxpayer Burden: $5,100
Anchorage, AK Taxpayer Burden: $1,000
Arlington, TX Taxpayer Surplus: $1,500
Atlanta, GA Taxpayer Burden: $3,100
Aurora, CO Taxpayer Surplus: $2,800
Austin, TX Taxpayer Burden: $11,700
Bakersfield, CA Taxpayer Surplus: $800
Baltimore, MD Taxpayer Burden: $14,400
Boston, MA Taxpayer Burden: $10,600
Charlotte, NC Taxpayer Surplus: $1,000
Chicago, IL Taxpayer Burden: $40,600
Chula Vista, CA Taxpayer Burden: $600
Cincinnati, OH Taxpayer Burden: $13,400
Cleveland, OH Taxpayer Surplus: $2,900
Colorado Springs, CO Taxpayer Surplus: $800
Columbus, OH Taxpayer Burden: $2,000
Corpus Christi, TX Taxpayer Surplus: $400
Dallas, TX Taxpayer Burden: $13,300
Denver, CO Taxpayer Burden: $15
Detroit, MI Taxpayer Burden: $1,600
El Paso, TX Taxpayer Burden: $2,300
Fort Wayne, IN Taxpayer Surplus: $200
Fort Worth, TX Taxpayer Burden: $4,100
Fresno, CA Taxpayer Surplus: $2,700
Greensboro, NC Taxpayer Burden: $1,100
Henderson, NV Taxpayer Burden: $1,200
Honolulu, HI Taxpayer Burden: $17,400
Houston, TX Taxpayer Burden: $5,700
Indianapolis, IN Taxpayer Burden: $3,600
Irvine, CA Taxpayer Surplus: $4,200
Jacksonville, FL Taxpayer Burden: $9,800
Kansas City, MO Taxpayer Burden: $8,800
Las Vegas, NV Taxpayer Burden: $500
Lexington, KY Taxpayer Burden: $5,500
Lincoln, NE Taxpayer Surplus: $4,300
Long Beach, CA Taxpayer Burden: $1,800
Los Angeles, CA Taxpayer Burden: $1,000
Louisville, KY Taxpayer Surplus: $2,600
Memphis, TN Taxpayer Burden: $9,100
Mesa, AZ Taxpayer Burden: $4,000
Miami, FL Taxpayer Burden: $13,400
Milwaukee, WI Taxpayer Burden: $15,100
Minneapolis, MN Taxpayer Burden: $600
Nashville, TN Taxpayer Burden: $1,600
New Orleans, LA Taxpayer Burden: $18,300
New York City, NY Taxpayer Burden: $56,800
Oakland, CA Taxpayer Burden: $7,800
Oklahoma City, OK Taxpayer Surplus: $2,900
Omaha, NE Taxpayer Burden: $6,400
Orlando, FL Taxpayer Surplus: $300
Philadelphia, PA Taxpayer Burden: $17,300
Phoenix, AZ Taxpayer Burden: $3,200
Pittsburgh, PA Taxpayer Burden: $10,500
Plano, TX Taxpayer Surplus: $2,300
Portland, OR Taxpayer Burden: $18,600
Raleigh, NC Taxpayer Surplus: $2,700
Riverside, CA Taxpayer Burden: $1,700
Sacramento, CA Taxpayer Burden: $2,500
Saint Paul, MN Taxpayer Burden: $4,200
San Antonio, TX Taxpayer Burden: $1,400
San Diego, CA Taxpayer Burden: $3,900
San Francisco, CA Taxpayer Burden: $12,800
San Jose, CA Taxpayer Burden: $6,700
Santa Ana, CA Taxpayer Burden: $5,400
Seattle, WA Taxpayer Burden: $1,700
St. Louis, MO Taxpayer Burden: $9,800
Stockton, CA Taxpayer Burden: $1,000
Tampa, FL Taxpayer Surplus: $3,400
Toledo, OH Taxpayer Burden: $2,200
Tucson, AZ Taxpayer Burden: $6,900
Tulsa, OK Taxpayer Surplus: $200
Virginia Beach, VA Taxpayer Surplus: $25
Washington, D.C. Taxpayer Surplus: $9,000
Wichita, KS Taxpayer Surplus: $700

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.

Judi Willard
Truth in Accounting
+1 217-801-5821
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