Seattle, WA vs Milwaukee, WI

Seattle, WA outspends Milwaukee, WI by a wide margin per resident — $34,463 versus $19,417, a 77% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Milwaukee, WI edges Seattle, WA on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 62/100 (grade C) to 61/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.

Milwaukee, WI reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Seattle, WA carries $1,100 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Seattle, WA leads with parks and recreation at $3,923 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 Seattle, WA at 13% of total revenue, whereas Milwaukee, WI relies most on sales tax at 59%.