Waukegan, IL vs Springfield, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Springfield, IL spends 22% more per resident than Waukegan, IL: $15,771 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 68/100 (grade B) for Springfield, IL — a 22-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.
Waukegan, IL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Springfield, IL carries $2,441 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Waukegan, IL leads with health at $458 per resident, while Springfield, IL leads with highways and roads at $1,079.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 9% of total revenue in Waukegan, IL and 17% in Springfield, IL.
Summary
Springfield spends 18.1% more per capita than Waukegan ($2,856/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 | $26 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,312 | $18,701 |
| Charges & Fees | $1,728 | $2,314 |
| Other | $1,050 | $1,274 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $1,079 |
| Education | $0 | $106 |
| Public Welfare | $984 | $1,275 |
| Health | $458 | $388 |
| Hospitals | $377 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $118 | $325 |
| Housing | $5,135 | $0 |
| Sewerage | $311 | $0 |
| Utilities | $1,645 | $1,570 |
| Other | $3,888 | $11,028 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.