Tulsa, OK vs Milwaukee, WI
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Milwaukee, WI outspends Tulsa, OK by a wide margin per resident — $19,417 versus $5,250, a 270% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Milwaukee, WI edges Tulsa, OK on the Fiscal Health Score by 6 points — 62/100 (grade C) to 56/100 (grade C). 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. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Tulsa, OK leads with health at $762 per resident, while Milwaukee, WI leads with police at $3,642.
Summary
Milwaukee spends 73.0% more per capita than Tulsa ($14,167/person difference). Milwaukee, WI has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 62/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $97 | $6,548 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1 |
| Intergovernmental | $0 | $1,231 |
| Other | $53 | $3,984 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $628 | $3,642 |
| Fire Protection | $196 | $802 |
| Highways & Roads | $257 | $23 |
| Public Welfare | $86 | $180 |
| Health | $762 | $1 |
| Parks & Recreation | $154 | $2,206 |
| Housing | $350 | $1,071 |
| Sewerage | $27 | $0 |
| Utilities | $41 | $1,866 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $1,608 |
| Other | $2,748 | $8,018 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.