Arlington, TX vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Milwaukee, WI outspends Arlington, TX by a wide margin per resident — $19,417 versus $11,769, a 65% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Arlington, TX holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 83/100 (grade A) against 62/100 (grade C) for Milwaukee, WI — a 21-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Milwaukee, WI reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Arlington, TX carries $594 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Arlington, TX leads with parks and recreation at $1,352 per resident, while Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Arlington, TX at 41% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 39.4% more per capita than Arlington ($7,648/person difference). Arlington, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 83/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $507 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $73 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $25,062 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,949 | $0 |
| Other | $3,897 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $160 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $149 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $826 | $180 |
| Health | $219 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $152 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,352 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $2,981 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $141 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,385 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,608 |
| Other | $4,404 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.