At the end of the fiscal year 2022, 53 cities did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.

"Sobering Statistics 

The study, called Financial State of the Cities 2023, was done by Truth in Accounting. It has some difficult truths: 50 out of 75 cities could not pay their bills; the combined debt for all 75 cities is $267 billion. Moreover, elected officials didn’t include the cost of government in this figure, instead pushing it onto future taxpayers."

This year's report highlights the volatility and risk surrounding pension plan assets and corresponding pension liabilities.

Truth in Accounting has released its sixth annual Financial State of the Cities report.

Despite receiving federal assistance from the CARES Act and other COVID-19 related grants, the majority of cities’ finances worsened. Total debt among the 75 largest U.S. cities amounted to $357 billion at the end of the fiscal year 2020, which was $23.5 billion worse than the last fiscal year.

By Joseph DiStefano, includes “Pennsylvania’s pension plan for teachers is at war with itself over how to invest its mammoth $70 billion fund. Put aside the lingering FBI investigation."

By Tom Davidson, includes “Forty-four Pittsburgh residents have petitioned for a hearing before City Council to ask for a local resolution to support a movement that calls for reduced defense spending." 

By Andrew Bankson and Brian Gonnella, includes “Despite the liberal buzzwords and soothing platitudes, the Pittsburgh city budget is a further entrenchment of the same capitalist status quo that has dug in to most American municipalities. It is a status quo defined by austerity policies and increasingly higher investments into the local police state..”

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.

Our fifth annual Financial State of the Cities report. This analysis surveys the fiscal health of the 75 most populated US cities prior to the coronavirus pandemic. 

For the last decade, drilling rigs dotting the Western Pennsylvania landscape unlocked vast natural gas reserves trapped by the Marcellus Shale rock formation — and were financed with cheap corporate loans repaid at rock-bottom interest rates set by the Federal Reserve

Our fourth annual report on the financial condition of the nation's 75 largest cities.