Milwaukee, WI vs Houston, TX
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: Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642 per resident, while Houston, TX leads with parks and recreation at $361.
They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas Houston, TX relies most on other revenue at 7%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 34.8% 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 | $6,548 | $181 |
| Income Tax | $1 | $39 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,231 | $33 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,475 |
| Other | $3,984 | $3,960 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,642 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $802 | $295 |
| Highways & Roads | $23 | $175 |
| Public Welfare | $180 | $533 |
| Health | $1 | $210 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $511 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,206 | $361 |
| Housing | $1,071 | $4,288 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $386 |
| Utilities | $1,866 | $1,339 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,608 | $0 |
| Other | $8,018 | $6,301 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.