Long Beach, CA vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA outspends Milwaukee, WI by a wide margin per resident — $34,250 versus $19,417, a 76% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Long Beach, CA edges Milwaukee, WI on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 67/100 (grade B) 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.
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: Long Beach, CA leads with parks and recreation at $698 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 Long Beach, CA at 12% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 76.4% more per capita than Milwaukee ($14,833/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $36 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $1,760 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,688 | $1,231 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,424 | $0 |
| Other | $8,836 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $0 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $1,317 | $180 |
| Health | $477 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $2,751 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $698 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $5,782 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $86 | $0 |
| Utilities | $3,889 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,718 | $1,608 |
| Other | $16,533 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.