Appleton, WI vs Madison, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, WI spends 43% more per resident than Appleton, WI: $21,859 against $15,241. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Appleton, WI and Madison, WI both land at 87/100 (grade A and A respectively), so the deciding factors sit in the underlying six-factor breakdown rather than the rolled-up grade.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Appleton, WI leads with health at $684 per resident, while Madison, WI leads with parks and recreation at $1,572.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 15% of total revenue in Appleton, WI and 19% in Madison, WI.
Summary
Madison spends 30.3% more per capita than Appleton ($6,618/person difference). Both cities share the same Fiscal Health Score.
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1,550 | $770 |
| Sales Tax | $558 | $1,178 |
| Income Tax | $226 | $32 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,693 | $7,913 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,875 | $1,755 |
| Other | $1,817 | $2,381 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $206 | $264 |
| Highways & Roads | $81 | $47 |
| Education | $0 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $2,412 | $1,769 |
| Health | $684 | $744 |
| Hospitals | $75 | $1,664 |
| Parks & Recreation | $661 | $1,572 |
| Housing | $2,686 | $3,100 |
| Sewerage | $130 | $166 |
| Utilities | $2,687 | $3,406 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,257 | $2,451 |
| Other | $4,363 | $6,676 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.