Appleton, WI vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Milwaukee spends 21.5% more per capita than Appleton ($4,176/person difference). Appleton, WI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 87/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1,550 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $558 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $226 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $5,693 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,875 | $0 |
| Other | $1,817 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $206 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $81 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $2,412 | $180 |
| Health | $684 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $75 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $661 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $2,686 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $130 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,687 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,257 | $1,608 |
| Other | $4,363 | $8,018 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.