Aurora, IL vs Waukegan, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Aurora, IL spends 18% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $15,301 against $12,915. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Waukegan, IL edges Aurora, IL on the Fiscal Health Score by 3 points — 90/100 (grade A) to 87/100 (grade A). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Waukegan, IL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Aurora, IL carries $489 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Aurora, IL leads with parks and recreation at $494 per resident, while Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 5% of total revenue in Aurora, IL and 9% in Waukegan, IL.
Summary
Aurora spends 18.5% more per capita than Waukegan ($2,386/person difference). Waukegan, IL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $114 | $32 |
| Income Tax | $144 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $2,481 | $4,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,224 | $1,728 |
| Other | $1,114 | $1,050 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $216 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $922 | $984 |
| Health | $0 | $458 |
| Hospitals | $257 | $377 |
| Parks & Recreation | $494 | $118 |
| Housing | $4,836 | $5,135 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $311 |
| Utilities | $2,366 | $1,645 |
| Other | $6,210 | $3,888 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.