Houston, TX vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Milwaukee, WI spends 35% more per resident than Houston, TX: $19,417 against $14,400. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Houston, 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 Houston, TX carries $863 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Houston, TX leads with parks and recreation at $361 per resident, while Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642.
They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Houston, TX at 7% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 25.8% more per capita than Houston ($5,017/person difference). Houston, 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 | $181 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $39 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $33 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,475 | $0 |
| Other | $3,960 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $295 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $175 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $533 | $180 |
| Health | $210 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $511 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $361 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $4,288 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $386 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,339 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,608 |
| Other | $6,301 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.