Peoria, IL vs Waukegan, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Waukegan, IL outspends Peoria, IL by a wide margin per resident — $12,915 versus $7,629, a 69% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Waukegan, IL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 74/100 (grade B) for Peoria, IL — a 16-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: Peoria, IL leads with police at $1,088 per resident, while Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 37% of total revenue in Peoria, IL and 9% in Waukegan, IL.
Summary
Waukegan spends 40.9% more per capita than Peoria ($5,286/person difference). Waukegan, IL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 90/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $20 | $32 |
| Income Tax | $18 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,954 | $4,312 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $1,728 |
| Other | $1,543 | $1,050 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,088 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $129 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $200 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $1,314 | $984 |
| Health | $0 | $458 |
| Hospitals | $0 | $377 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $118 |
| Housing | $787 | $5,135 |
| Sewerage | $64 | $311 |
| Utilities | $171 | $1,645 |
| Other | $3,876 | $3,888 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.