Oakland, CA vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Oakland, CA spends 55% more per resident than Milwaukee, WI: $30,055 against $19,417. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oakland, CA holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 72/100 (grade B) against 62/100 (grade C) for Milwaukee, WI — 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: Oakland, CA leads with health at $1,016 per resident, while Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Oakland, CA at 100% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.
Summary
Oakland spends 54.8% more per capita than Milwaukee ($10,637/person difference). Oakland, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 72/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $522 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $42,277 | $1,231 |
| Other | $4,337 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $1 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $2,426 | $180 |
| Health | $1,016 | $1 |
| Hospitals | $2,498 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $955 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $7,811 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $1,417 | $0 |
| Utilities | $0 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,608 |
| Other | $13,929 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.