Report: Cities have $1.4 trillion in debt

Nationally, cities report $1.4 trillion in debt, equivalent to approximately $7,000 per capita, according to Reason Foundation’s State and Local Government Finance Report.

The cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the city and county of San Francisco*, and Houston report the most total liabilities.

The $1.4 trillion in debt carried by cities, towns, and other incorporated municipalities represents 23% of total state and local government debt found in the State and Local Government Finance Report, which can be explored interactively in Reason Foundation’s GovFinance Dashboard.

In per capita terms for cities with 10,000 residents or more, the city and county of San Francisco* ranks first, with total liabilities representing about $43,000 per resident. The rest of the top five cities in per capita debt are Nantucket (MA), New York, Ocean City (NJ), and Miami Beach.

Total debt, reported as “total liabilities,” includes money a city owes in the near term, such as unpaid bills and accrued payroll, as well as long-term obligations, including bonds, pensions, and retiree healthcare.

Reason Foundation extracted this data from publicly available, audited financial reports filed by each county for their fiscal year 2023. While the dashboard covers 90% of the U.S. population living in an incorporated city, this analysis displays the top 50 cities in each category, among cities with 10,000 residents or more.

* Several jurisdictions in the United States operate under consolidated city–county governments, meaning their financial data reflect both city and county functions. Due to their structure and financial reporting practices, these entities could be considered either a city or a county, and therefore, are listed in both the city and county rankings of this report, which can make some comparisons to other cities or counties difficult. Some of the entities most impacted in the rankings and figures are San Francisco, Denver, Honolulu, Nashville, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia.

The combined entities in the report include the city and borough of Juneau (AK), city and borough of Sitka (AK), city and borough of Wrangell (AK), city and county of San Francisco (CA), city and county of Broomfield (CO), city and county of Denver (CO), Jacksonville (FL), Athens–Clarke County (GA), Columbus–Muscogee County (GA), Georgetown–Quitman County (GA), Macon–Bibb County (GA), city and county of Honolulu (HI), Greeley County (KS), Wyandotte County (KS), Lexington–Fayette Urban County (KY), Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (KY), New Orleans (LA), Anaconda–Deer Lodge County (MT), Butte–Silver Bow County (MT), Philadelphia (PA), Lynchburg–Moore County Metropolitan Government (TN), and Nashville–Davidson County (TN). In our aggregate figures, these entities are added to the “county total.”

The five New York City counties—Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond—are consolidated in a single city government and financial report and are listed collectively as New York City in this report.

Baltimore (MD), St. Louis (MO), Chesapeake (VA), Norfolk (VA), Virginia Beach (VA), Baton Rouge (LA), and the District of Columbia (DC) are independent city governments. They have no overlapping county, and perform both municipal and county functions—or in the case of Baton Rouge, the county government falls under the umbrella of the city. In our aggregate figures, these entities are added to the “municipal total.” For more details, please see the report’s about page.

City governments’ long-term debt

About 85% of city debt is long-term—that is, due in more than one year. This category consists of bonds, loans, and notes (50%), unfunded pension liabilities (25%), unfunded retiree health care (18%), and accrued leave payouts (2%).

Cities collectively report $1.2 trillion in long-term debt, or about $6,000 per capita nationally.

New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the city and county of San Francisco, and Houston declared the most total long-term debt.

For cities with 10,000 residents or more, the city and county of San Francisco ranks first in per capita long-term debt, at $36,602 per resident, followed by Ocean City (NJ), Nantucket (MA), New York City, and Miami Beach.

City government pension debt

Unfunded pension liabilities arise when governments set aside fewer assets than required to fulfill the retirement benefits promised to its public employees–declared as net pension liability.

Cities collectively report nearly $300 billion in unfunded pension obligations, equal to 25% of their long-term debt and equivalent to about $1,500 per capita nationally.

For cities with 10,000 residents or more, New York City has the most total public pension debt at $40 billion, followed by Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.

In per capita terms, the city of Chicago ranks first, with its pension debt representing about $13,500 per resident. Beverly Hills, Miami Beach, Riverdale (IL), and Forest Park (IL) follow.

City government OPEB debt

Other post-employment benefits (OPEB) are mostly retiree health care for public employees. OPEB debt arises when governments promise these benefits but do not set aside enough money in advance to cover the future costs, which are declared as net OPEB liability.

Cities collectively report $215 billion in OPEB debt, equal to 18% of their long-term debt, equivalent to roughly $1,100 per capita nationally.

The city New York has the most total pension debt at $95 billion, followed by city and county of San Francisco, Austin, Yonkers (NY), and Boston.

In per capita terms, among cities with 10,000 residents or more, the city of Yonkers (NY) ranks first, with its OPEB debt representing about $12,100 per resident. Waltham (MA), New York, Hoboken (NJ), and Plattsburgh (NY) follow.

City governments’ outstanding bonded debt

Bonds, loans, and notes represent the portion of a city’s long-term liabilities explicitly borrowed in credit markets. Unlike pensions or OPEB, which accumulate as estimated unfunded promises, these instruments are contractual debt obligations with fixed repayment schedules.

Nationally, cities report $608 billion in outstanding bonds, loans, and notes—50% of all long-term liabilities. This equals about $3,000 per capita.

New York City has the most total bonded debt at $105 billion, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, the city and county of San Francisco, and Houston.

In per capita terms, the city and county of San Francisco (CA) ranks first, with its bonded debt representing about $27,900 per resident. Celina (TX), Salt Lake City (UT), Nantucket (MA), and Washington (DC) follow.

Reason Foundation’s State and Local Government Finance Report totals the liabilities of each state government, as well as the cities, towns, counties, and school districts within each state. This report covers all 50 state governments, over 2,000 county governments, 8,000 municipal governments, and 10,000 school districts, which serve 331 million Americans nationwide.

All figures in the State and Local Government Finance Report are sourced from the financial reports of state and local governments, most often their annual comprehensive financial reports. The data is from the 2023 fiscal year, the most recent year for which complete data are available. Nevada and a handful of cities and counties across the country have not reported 2023 data. Our database lists the available 2023 fiscal year data for each city.

Despite a thorough review, data collection at this scale can result in discrepancies. Please alert us if you identify any errors.

For personalized reports on municipal entities or more detailed information on assets, liquidity, and solvency, please visit the GovFinance Dashboard.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data more, please email Mariana Trujillo at mariana.trujillo@reason.org or Jordan Campbell at jordan.campbell@reason.org.

Related:

Report: State and local governments have $6.1 trillion in debt

Report ranks every state’s total debt, from California’s $497 billion to South Dakota’s $2 billion

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Source: https://reason.org/transparency-project/gov-finance-2025/city/