The five largest cities in the United States, all led by Democrats, did not have enough money to pay their bills in 2024, according to a new Truth in Accounting report first provided to The Center Square.
Its Financial State of the Cities 2026 report examines the fiscal health of the cities of Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City, with New York City again leading the U.S. with the greatest taxpayer burden.
The analysis is based on the most recent audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports from fiscal year 2024. It assesses the amount of money city governments need to pay their bills, dividing this number by the estimated number of city taxpayers. The difference is the taxpayer burden, or what every taxpayer owes in order to pay off the city’s debt, TIA explains.
According to the data, New York City residents have the highest taxpayer burden of $61,700, followed by Chicagoans’ $42,600, Philadelphians’ $17,000, Houstonians’ $4,800 and Los Angeles residents’ $1,300.
Each city’s financial reports are different and not apple-to-apple comparisons.
“Because of varying state laws, cities operate under complex and varied governmental structures, making comparisons difficult and reducing transparency,” TIA say. “For example, New York City includes its school district in its financial reports, while Chicago Public Schools are reported separately. If Chicago and the public school system were combined, it would significantly change Chicago’s reported numbers. These structural differences can obscure what is included in city financial reporting, making it harder, if not impossible, for voters to assess city financial performance when voting.”
TIA has historically issued reports evaluating the top 75 most populous cities every year. This year, the report focuses on the top five cities because “prior analysis found that the five largest cities accounted for over 80 percent of total city debt,” it explains.
Pension and healthcare debt accounted for the majority of debt owed, according to the analysis. Pension debt totaled $175.9 billion; other post-employment benefits (OPEB), mainly retiree health care, totaled $135.2 billion.