Oshkosh, WI vs Madison, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Madison, WI spends 52% more per resident than Oshkosh, WI: $21,859 against $14,411. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Oshkosh, WI edges Madison, WI on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 88/100 (grade A) to 87/100 (grade A). 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: parks and recreation leads in Oshkosh, WI at $1,346 per resident and in Madison, WI at $1,572.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 17% of total revenue in Oshkosh, WI and 19% in Madison, WI.
Summary
Madison spends 34.1% more per capita than Oshkosh ($7,448/person difference). Oshkosh, WI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 88/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $1,987 | $770 |
| Sales Tax | $107 | $1,178 |
| Income Tax | $154 | $32 |
| Intergovernmental | $14,094 | $7,913 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,241 | $1,755 |
| Other | $3,339 | $2,381 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $173 | $264 |
| Highways & Roads | $127 | $47 |
| Education | $56 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,718 | $1,769 |
| Health | $601 | $744 |
| Hospitals | $113 | $1,664 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,346 | $1,572 |
| Housing | $2,296 | $3,100 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $166 |
| Utilities | $1,997 | $3,406 |
| Interest on Debt | $1,027 | $2,451 |
| Other | $4,956 | $6,676 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.