Numerous studies show the critical impact of economic deprivation (i.e., economic insecurity, financial distress, unemployment) on political discontent and preferences for populist right-wing parties. A possible underlying reason is that financial distress fosters perceptions of anomia and lack of support through political authorities. In a related vein, previous research shows that generous national social policies mitigate such effects of financial distress. In this study, we apply a local perspective arguing that communities provide relevant social policy measures and public services that are particularly visible and proximate for residents and thus have a distinct impact on the formation of political attitudes. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which the link between financial distress and political discontent is moderated by (changes in) community social spending. To empirically gauge this conditional relationship, we use panel data from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study merged with community-level data on social spending. Results from two-way fixed effects models show a substantial relationship between financial distress and political discontent. While this empirical link is largely homogeneous across communities with different levels of (as well as over-time changes in) social spending, we find effect differences with regard to the economic status of communities. In economically deprived communities, the negative relationship between financial hardship and political discontent is more pronounced than in wealthier communities. In terms of implications, our study provides evidence for a crucial interplay of individual-level deprivation and community conditions in shaping political attitudes, while governance through local social policy measures appears to be less relevant.