Waukegan, IL vs Rockford, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Rockford, IL spends 50% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $19,348 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 59/100 (grade C) for Rockford, IL — a 31-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
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: Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458 per resident, while Rockford, IL leads with parks and recreation at $2,329.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 9% of total revenue in Waukegan, IL and 100% in Rockford, IL.
Summary
Rockford spends 33.3% more per capita than Waukegan ($6,434/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 | $749 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,312 | $6,178 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,728 | $2,152 |
| Other | $1,050 | $2,314 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Public Welfare | $984 | $724 |
| Health | $458 | $593 |
| Hospitals | $377 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $118 | $2,329 |
| Housing | $5,135 | $4,267 |
| Sewerage | $311 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,645 | $1,320 |
| Other | $3,888 | $10,115 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.