Milwaukee, WI vs Kansas City, MO
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Kansas City, MO spends 18% more per resident than Milwaukee, WI: $22,820 against $19,417. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Milwaukee, WI holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 62/100 (grade C) against 52/100 (grade C) for Kansas City, MO — a 10-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 Kansas City, MO leads with parks and recreation at $1,309.
They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas Kansas City, MO relies most on other revenue at 835%.
Summary
Kansas City spends 14.9% more per capita than Milwaukee ($3,403/person difference). Milwaukee, WI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 62/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $6,548 | $623 |
| Income Tax | $1 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,231 | $7 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,794 |
| Other | $3,984 | $11,150 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,642 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $802 | $119 |
| Highways & Roads | $23 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $180 | $3,018 |
| Health | $1 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $1,849 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,206 | $1,309 |
| Housing | $1,071 | $4,681 |
| Utilities | $1,866 | $3,123 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,608 | $0 |
| Other | $8,018 | $8,721 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.