Eau Claire, WI vs Madison, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, WI spends 39% more per resident than Eau Claire, WI: $21,859 against $15,744. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Eau Claire, 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. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Eau Claire, WI at $1,259 per resident and in Madison, WI at $1,572.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 27% of total revenue in Eau Claire, WI and 19% in Madison, WI.
Summary
Madison spends 28.0% more per capita than Eau Claire ($6,115/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 | $821 | $770 |
| Sales Tax | $320 | $1,178 |
| Income Tax | $125 | $32 |
| Intergovernmental | $9,252 | $7,913 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,772 | $1,755 |
| Other | $2,733 | $2,381 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $403 | $264 |
| Highways & Roads | $84 | $47 |
| Education | $67 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,725 | $1,769 |
| Health | $734 | $744 |
| Hospitals | $169 | $1,664 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,259 | $1,572 |
| Housing | $2,608 | $3,100 |
| Sewerage | $104 | $166 |
| Utilities | $1,699 | $3,406 |
| Interest on Debt | $935 | $2,451 |
| Other | $5,957 | $6,676 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.