Milwaukee, WI vs Sacramento, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Sacramento, CA outspends Milwaukee, WI by a wide margin per resident — $71,020 versus $19,417, a 266% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Milwaukee, WI edges Sacramento, CA on the Fiscal Health Score by 5 points — 62/100 (grade C) to 57/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: police leads in Milwaukee, WI at $3,642 per resident and in Sacramento, CA at $5,402.
They also fund themselves differently: sales tax is the largest single revenue source in Milwaukee, WI at 59% of total revenue, whereas Sacramento, CA relies most on other revenue at 8%.
Summary
Sacramento spends 72.7% more per capita than Milwaukee ($51,603/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)
| Property Tax | $0 | $1,465 |
| Sales Tax | $6,548 | $378 |
| Income Tax | $1 | $3,104 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,231 | $3,400 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $3,239 |
| Other | $3,984 | $5,072 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $3,642 | $5,402 |
| Fire Protection | $802 | $2,466 |
| Highways & Roads | $23 | $0 |
| Education | $0 | $2,684 |
| Public Welfare | $180 | $3,470 |
| Health | $1 | $18 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,206 | $1,437 |
| Housing | $1,071 | $8,577 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $103 |
| Utilities | $1,866 | $19,920 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,608 | $162 |
| Other | $8,018 | $26,782 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.