Milwaukee, WI vs New York, NY

New York, NY outspends Milwaukee, WI by a wide margin per resident — $129,119 versus $19,417, a 565% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

New York, NY edges Milwaukee, WI on the Fiscal Health Score by 2 points — 64/100 (grade C) 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.

Milwaukee, WI reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while New York, NY carries $462 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642 per resident, while New York, NY leads with education at $37,892.

They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas New York, NY relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 14%.