Fort Worth, TX vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Milwaukee, WI spends 22% more per resident than Fort Worth, TX: $19,417 against $15,939. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Fort Worth, TX edges Milwaukee, WI on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 63/100 (grade C) to 62/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Milwaukee, WI reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Fort Worth, TX carries $1,921 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Fort Worth, TX leads with parks and recreation at $708 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 Fort Worth, TX at 15% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 17.9% more per capita than Fort Worth ($3,478/person difference). Fort Worth, TX has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $198 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $851 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,002 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,594 | $0 |
| Other | $3,439 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $156 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $317 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $869 | $180 |
| Health | $235 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $1,680 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $708 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $4,217 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $267 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,674 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,608 |
| Other | $4,817 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.