Defund the police? Police budgets of major U.S. cities

As the U.S. grapples with how best to allocate funding to maximize public safety, some cities are taking a hard look at police department budgets.

In 2020, "Defund the police" became a rallying cry for some protesters in the wake of George Floyd's murder and other incidents of police violence against Black people. This movement proposes reallocating funding from police departments to other agencies. In Nashville, the city spent $311 per resident on the police force in 2020. In 2020, the City of San Antonio budgeted $313 per resident on its police force. Des Moines budgeted $323 per resident on policing in 2020. Charlotte spent $327 per resident on its police force in 2020. In 2020, Omaha spent $340 per resident on policing. Phoenix budgeted $341 per resident on police work in 2020. Cheyenne spent $342 per resident on its police force. In 2020, Burlington budgeted $349 per resident on policing. Portland's police force cost $352 per resident in 2020. Denver spent $355 per resident on police in 2020. Fresno spent $367 per resident on the police department. Albuquerque also spent $367 per resident on police in 2020. San Diego allocated $378 per citizen to its police force in 2020. Charleston spent $379 per resident on police department activities in 2020. Dallas also spent $379 per resident on its police force. In Houston, police cost $387 per resident in 2020. Mesa spent $389 per resident on police work in 2020. In 2020, Columbus allocated $398 per resident on its police department. Arkansas' state capital spent $405 per resident on its police department in 2020. Salt Lake City allocated $410 per resident to its police budget. Atlanta's largest city spent $412 per resident on police work in 2020. Memphis' police department cost $419 per resident in 2020. California's largest city spent $420 per resident on its police department. San Jose spent $434 per resident on policing in 2020. In Birmingham, policing cost $443 per resident in 2020.  The Minneapolis police department cost $444 per resident in 2020. In 2020, Anchorage spent $445 per resident on policing. The Big Easy spent $449 per resident on police. Tampa spent $450 per resident on its police force. In 2020, Austin's police department cost $451 per resident. The city of St. Louis allocated $454 per resident on its police force in 2020. In 2020, Detroit spent $460 per resident on police work. Philadelphia spent $468 per resident on its police department in 2020. Providence spent $478 per resident on policing in 2020. In the capital of West Virginia, police cost $482 per resident in 2020. Milwaukee spent $502 per resident on its police force. In 2020, Kansas City allocated $510 per resident on police work. In Long Beach, police cost $522 per resident. Jacksonville spent $533 per resident on its police department in 2020. The City of Seattle spent $546 per resident on police in 2020. In 2020, Miami's police force cost $564 per resident. In Boston, police cost $595 per resident. San Francisco spent $604 per resident on its police force. In Chicago, police cost $611 per resident in 2020. The NYPD cost the city $626 per resident in 2020. Bridgeport police cost $706 per resident in 2020. In 2020, Newark spent $737 per resident on police. D.C. spent $744 per resident on its police force in 2020. Wilmington spent $825 per resident on policing in 2020. Baltimore has the highest per-capita price tag, spending $840 per resident on its city police department in 2020.

The Vera Institute of Justice, a national advocacy group that works to build a more fair and equitable justice system, collected city budget data for the 50 largest cities across the country (and the largest city in each state), and compiled the data on one place. The city's police budget totaled $216.8 million. The total police budget was $479.1 million. The city's police department budget was more than $71.5 million — 39% of the city's total spending. The total budget for police was $285.9 million. The total police department budget was $159.8 million. The police budget was more than $909.1 million — 41% of all city funds. The city's 2020 police budget was $14.5 million. The city's total police budget was more than $17.9 million. The city's total police budget was $238.2 million. The total police budget was $277.9 million — 17% of the city spending. In 2020, $201.8 million — 40% of the city's total budget — went to policing. The total police department budget was $211.1 million. The department budget was $542.1 million. The total police department budget was more than $53.4 million. The total department budget for 2020 was $546 million. The total department budget came in at just under $900 million for the year. The department's total budget was $198.2 million. The city's total police budget was $347.8 million. The total department budget was $80.2 million — 38% of city funds for the year. The department accounted for more than $82.2 million in 2020. The total department budget was more than $248.5 million for the year. The city spent more than $274.5 on police work for the year. The LAPD's budget for the year was $1.74 billion. The total department budget was $473.2 million. The department budget for the year was $92.8 million. The city's police budget was $193.4 million. The total budget for the department was $133.8 million. The city budgeted $206.9 million for the department for the year. In 2020, the police department budget for the city was $177 million — 41% of total city spending. The city spent $491.3 million on the force that year. The total department budget was $154.9 million. The total department budget for the year was $318.2 million. The city allocated $956.6 million to police for the year. The total department budget was $85.6 million for the year. The total department budget was $22.5 million for the year. The $321.5 million police budget accounts for 58% of the city's total spending for the year. That's the largest percentage of any city's budget on this list. The department budget was more than $262.2 million. The city spent $265.5 million on the department in 2020. The city's total budget for police was $481.6 million for the year. The department's budget was $440.2 million — 12% of the city's total spending for the year. The total department budget for the year was $281.3 million. The city's 2020 police budget was $431.7 million. The 2020 department budget was $706.2 million — 9% of the city's total spending.  The department budget — accounting for 37% of city spending — was $1.8 billion. The department's budget was the largest in the country, at more than $11 billion. The department budget was $102.3 million. The total department budget was $208 million. The city allocated $655.4 million to the department. The total department budget was $59.8 million. The total department budget for the year was more than $549 million.