Champaign, IL vs Waukegan, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Champaign, IL spends 17% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $15,173 against $12,915. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Waukegan, IL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 55/100 (grade C) for Champaign, IL — a 35-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
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: Champaign, IL leads with police at $1,426 per resident, while Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 276% of total revenue in Champaign, IL and 9% in Waukegan, IL.
Summary
Champaign spends 17.5% more per capita than Waukegan ($2,258/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 | $0 | $32 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,573 | $4,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $1,728 |
| Other | $1,152 | $1,050 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,426 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $488 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $231 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $465 | $984 |
| Health | $0 | $458 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $377 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $118 |
| Housing | $895 | $5,135 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $311 |
| Utilities | $5 | $1,645 |
| Other | $11,663 | $3,888 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.