Philadelphia, PA vs Milwaukee, WI

Philadelphia, PA outspends Milwaukee, WI by a wide margin per resident — $56,272 versus $19,417, a 190% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Milwaukee, WI holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 62/100 (grade C) against 45/100 (grade D) for Philadelphia, PA — a 17-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

Milwaukee, WI reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Philadelphia, PA carries $1,069 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Philadelphia, PA leads with fire protection at $7,082 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 Philadelphia, PA at 16% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.