Milwaukee, WI vs Portland, OR
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Portland, OR spends 22% more per resident than Milwaukee, WI: $23,675 against $19,417. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Portland, OR edges Milwaukee, WI on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 63/100 (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 Portland, OR carries $1,574 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642 per resident, while Portland, OR leads with parks and recreation at $2,477.
They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas Portland, OR relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 19%.
Summary
Portland spends 18.0% more per capita than Milwaukee ($4,258/person difference). Portland, OR has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 63/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $6,548 | $1,695 |
| Income Tax | $1 | $130 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,231 | $8,979 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,883 |
| Other | $3,984 | $7,916 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,642 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $802 | $1,700 |
| Highways & Roads | $23 | $139 |
| Public Welfare | $180 | $3,607 |
| Health | $1 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $2,893 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,206 | $2,477 |
| Housing | $1,071 | $3,694 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $630 |
| Utilities | $1,866 | $1,845 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,608 | $0 |
| Other | $8,018 | $6,689 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.