Sapporo City finances

北海道札幌市の財政

Designated city Hokkaido, Japan Population 1,955,678 Area 1,121.26 km² FY2024 settlement of accounts
Total spending
¥1.23T
Per resident ¥628,507
Local bonds outstanding
¥1.11T
Per resident ¥569,176
Reserve funds
¥104.3B
Per resident ¥53,318
Fiscal strength index
0.70
Closer to 1.0 = more self-funded

Fiscal health rank among 1,741 municipalities and within Hokkaido

Fiscal strength indexWorse than peers
0.70
#363 of 1718 in Japan · #4 of 179 in the prefecture (highest first)
Median of similar municipalities 0.81
0.51.0
What this means

How much of the standard cost of public services a municipality can cover with its own tax revenue. Above 1.0, it receives no ordinary local allocation tax from the national government.

Current balance ratio
98.0%
#1588 of 1741 in Japan · #172 of 179 in the prefecture (lowest first)
Median of similar municipalities 98.2%
708090100
What this means

Recurring costs that must be paid every year (personnel, social assistance, debt service) as a share of recurring general revenue. The higher it is, the less room for new spending; above 90% is considered rigid.

Local bonds outstanding per residentBetter than peers
¥569,176
#938 of 1741 in Japan · #18 of 179 in the prefecture (lowest first)
Median of similar municipalities ¥653,198
What this means

Outstanding local government bonds at fiscal year-end divided by the population.

Reserve funds per resident
¥53,318
#1669 of 1741 in Japan · #178 of 179 in the prefecture (highest first)
Median of similar municipalities ¥51,495
What this means

Fiscal adjustment, debt reduction and special-purpose funds at fiscal year-end divided by the population.

Own-source revenue ratioWorse than peers
41.9%
#614 of 1741 in Japan · #20 of 179 in the prefecture (highest first)
Median of similar municipalities 48.3%
What this means

The share of revenue the municipality raises itself: taxes, fees, charges and similar.

Fiscal adjustment fund ratio
4.6%
#1696 of 1718 in Japan · #175 of 179 in the prefecture (highest first)
Median of similar municipalities 4.7%
What this means

The freely usable reserve (fiscal adjustment fund) as a percentage of standard annual revenue. Around 10–20% is considered comfortable.

Revenue ¥1.24T · per resident ¥633,769

Local taxes 28.8%Shared taxes and grants 7.2%Local allocation tax 12.4%National subsidies 25.3%Prefectural subsidies 5.5%Borrowing (local bonds) 7.7%Donations 0.3%Other 12.8%
SourceAmountPer residentShare
Local taxes
Resident tax, fixed asset tax and other taxes paid by residents and businesses
¥356.7B¥182,37028.8%
Shared taxes and grants
Portions of national and prefectural taxes distributed to municipalities
¥89.2B¥45,6357.2%
Local allocation tax
Unconditional transfers from the national government to municipalities with smaller tax bases
¥153.2B¥78,35512.4%
National subsidies
National treasury disbursements for specific programs
¥313.5B¥160,28025.3%
Prefectural subsidies
Prefectural disbursements for specific programs
¥68.3B¥34,9435.5%
Borrowing (local bonds)
New borrowing during the year
¥95.4B¥48,7917.7%
Donations
Including hometown tax (furusato nozei)
¥4.3B¥2,2180.3%
Other
Fees, charges, transfers from reserves, carry-overs and other revenue
¥158.8B¥81,17812.8%

Hometown tax (furusato nozei) donations received in FY2024: ¥3.9B

Spending by function per resident

This municipalityMedian of designated cities (20)
FunctionAmountPer residentPeer medianShare
Welfare
Elderly, children, people with disabilities, public assistance
¥543.0B¥277,643¥227,28244.2%
Education
Schools, libraries, community centers, sports facilities
¥175.0B¥89,464¥102,66814.2%
Public works
Roads, bridges, parks, sewers, public housing
¥142.2B¥72,714¥62,14311.6%
Commerce & tourism
Business attraction, shopping streets, tourism
¥96.2B¥49,184¥16,6897.8%
Debt service
Repayment of principal and interest on local bonds
¥95.9B¥49,049¥54,8947.8%
Health & sanitation
Health checks, vaccinations, waste disposal
¥83.8B¥42,873¥42,7346.8%
General administration
Office management, tax collection, family registers, elections
¥63.9B¥32,684¥41,0585.2%
Fire & emergency¥19.8B¥10,101¥14,2891.6%
その他¥5.7B¥2,899¥7330.5%
Assembly¥1.8B¥944¥1,3090.2%
Labor¥947M¥484¥3710.1%
Agriculture, forestry & fisheries¥741M¥379¥1,9340.1%
Disaster recovery¥176M¥90¥1010.0%

Welfare spending

Children
¥140.4B
Per resident ¥71,777 (median ¥87,073)
Elderly
¥71.9B
Per resident ¥36,750 (median ¥34,413)
Social welfare
¥190.9B
Per resident ¥97,618 (median ¥65,639)
Public assistance
¥139.8B
Per resident ¥71,497 (median ¥38,595)

Spending by type per resident

Personnel, social assistance and debt service are "mandatory" spending that is hard to cut. Here they make up 55.8% of spending.

Ten-year trends

Debt and reserves per resident

Local bondsReserve funds
¥0¥200K¥400K¥600K2015201620172018201920202021202220232024Debt per residentReserves per resident

Spending per resident

¥0¥200K¥400K¥600K¥800K2015201620172018201920202021202220232024This municipalityMedian of similar municipalities

Fiscal strength index

0.650.700.750.800.850.902015201620172018201920202021202220232024This municipalityMedian of similar municipalities

Current balance ratio

90%92%94%96%98%100%2015201620172018201920202021202220232024This municipalityMedian of similar municipalities

Population

1,940K1,945K1,950K1,955K1,960K1,965K2015201620172018201920202021202220232024Population
See the numbers by year
Fiscal yearPopulationSpendingLocal bondsReservesFiscal strengthCurrent balanceDebt service
FY20241,955,678¥1.23T¥1.11T¥104.3B0.7098.0%—
FY20231,956,928¥1.20T¥1.10T¥111.6B0.7195.4%—
FY20221,959,512¥1.22T¥1.10T¥99.9B0.7294.9%—
FY20211,960,668¥1.28T¥1.10T¥82.3B0.7293.0%—
FY20201,961,575¥1.27T¥1.10T¥68.8B0.7497.1%—
FY20191,959,313¥992.8B¥1.08T¥65.2B0.7395.3%—
FY20181,955,457¥979.0B¥1.07T¥61.5B0.7395.6%—
FY20171,952,348¥966.5B¥1.05T¥59.7B0.7393.6%—
FY20161,947,494¥911.3B¥1.02T¥56.0B0.7394.7%—
FY20151,941,832¥877.8B¥980.8B¥61.6B0.7291.6%—

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Settlement of accounts by municipality" (ordinary accounts), processed by Zaisei Zukan. Per-resident amounts use that year's basic resident register population. Fiscal years run from April to March (FY2024 = April 2024 to March 2025). 日本語のページ(AIの要約・首長と選挙)