Waukegan, IL vs Aurora, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Aurora, IL spends 18% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $15,301 against $12,915. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Waukegan, IL edges Aurora, IL on the Fiscal Health Score by 3 points — 90/100 (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.
Waukegan, IL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Aurora, IL carries $489 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458 per resident, while Aurora, IL leads with parks and recreation at $494.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 9% of total revenue in Waukegan, IL and 5% in Aurora, IL.
Summary
Aurora spends 15.6% more per capita than Waukegan ($2,386/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 | $32 | $114 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $144 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,312 | $2,481 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,728 | $2,224 |
| Other | $1,050 | $1,114 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $216 |
| Public Welfare | $984 | $922 |
| Health | $458 | $0 |
| Hospitals | $377 | $257 |
| Parks & Recreation | $118 | $494 |
| Housing | $5,135 | $4,836 |
| Sewerage | $311 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,645 | $2,366 |
| Other | $3,888 | $6,210 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.