Waukegan, IL vs Joliet, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Joliet, IL spends 45% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $18,675 against $12,915. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Waukegan, IL holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 90/100 (grade A) against 40/100 (grade D) for Joliet, IL — a 50-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Waukegan, IL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Joliet, IL carries $4,260 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458 per resident, while Joliet, IL leads with parks and recreation at $459.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 9% of total revenue in Waukegan, IL and 92% in Joliet, IL.
Summary
Joliet spends 30.8% more per capita than Waukegan ($5,760/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 | $323 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $1,006 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,312 | $12,066 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,728 | $2,156 |
| Other | $1,050 | $3,429 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $208 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $165 |
| Public Welfare | $984 | $2,118 |
| Health | $458 | $450 |
| Hospitals | $377 | $485 |
| Parks & Recreation | $118 | $459 |
| Housing | $5,135 | $3,292 |
| Sewerage | $311 | $94 |
| Utilities | $1,645 | $3,400 |
| Other | $3,888 | $8,005 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.