Milwaukee, WI vs Janesville, 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: Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642 per resident, while Janesville, WI leads with parks and recreation at $685.
They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas Janesville, WI relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 17%.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 22.2% 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 | $0 | $1,174 |
| Sales Tax | $6,548 | $330 |
| Income Tax | $1 | $1,322 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,231 | $3,366 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $2,055 |
| Other | $3,984 | $2,460 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,642 | $5 |
| Fire Protection | $802 | $335 |
| Highways & Roads | $23 | $62 |
| Education | $0 | $31 |
| Public Welfare | $180 | $1,687 |
| Health | $1 | $669 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $821 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,206 | $685 |
| Housing | $1,071 | $2,327 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $193 |
| Utilities | $1,866 | $2,499 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,608 | $696 |
| Other | $8,018 | $5,877 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.