Janesville, WI vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Milwaukee, WI spends 22% more per resident than Janesville, WI: $19,417 against $15,888. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Janesville, WI holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 87/100 (grade A) against 62/100 (grade C) for Milwaukee, WI — a 25-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: Janesville, WI leads with parks and recreation at $685 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 Janesville, WI at 17% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 18.2% more per capita than Janesville ($3,529/person difference). Janesville, WI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 87/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1,174 | $0 |
| Sales Tax | $330 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $1,322 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $3,366 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,055 | $0 |
| Other | $2,460 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $5 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $335 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $62 | $23 |
| Education | $31 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,687 | $180 |
| Health | $669 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $821 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $685 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $2,327 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $193 | $0 |
| Utilities | $2,499 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $696 | $1,608 |
| Other | $5,877 | $8,018 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.