Madison, WI vs Janesville, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, WI spends 38% more per resident than Janesville, WI: $21,859 against $15,888. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
On the CitySpend Fiscal Health Score the two are level: Madison, WI and Janesville, 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 Madison, WI at $1,572 per resident and in Janesville, WI at $685.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 19% of total revenue in Madison, WI and 17% in Janesville, WI.
Summary
Madison spends 37.6% more per capita than Janesville ($5,971/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 | $770 | $1,174 |
| Sales Tax | $1,178 | $330 |
| Income Tax | $32 | $1,322 |
| Intergovernmental | $7,913 | $3,366 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,755 | $2,055 |
| Other | $2,381 | $2,460 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $5 |
| Fire Protection | $264 | $335 |
| Highways & Roads | $47 | $62 |
| Education | $0 | $31 |
| Public Welfare | $1,769 | $1,687 |
| Health | $744 | $669 |
| Hospitals | $1,664 | $821 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,572 | $685 |
| Housing | $3,100 | $2,327 |
| Sewerage | $166 | $193 |
| Utilities | $3,406 | $2,499 |
| Interest on Debt | $2,451 | $696 |
| Other | $6,676 | $5,877 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.