924,740 people (2024 Census estimate, −1.5% since 2020)
241 square miles of land · 3,830 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
18 active community water systems list Milwaukee County in the area they serve, reporting 944,570 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS surface water · local government · WI2410100 | 626,000 served |
| WEST ALLIS WATERWORKS buys surface water · local government · WI2410595 | 63,240 served |
| WAUWATOSA WATERWORKS buys surface water · local government · WI2410596 | 49,064 served |
| NORTH SHORE WATER COMMISSION surface water · local government · WI2413515 | 35,598 served |
| OAK CREEK WATERWORKS surface water · local government · WI2410172 | 32,104 served |
| FRANKLIN WATER UTILITY buys surface water · local government · WI2410563 | 22,500 served |
| SOUTH MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS surface water · local government · WI2410144 | 21,340 served |
| CUDAHY WATERWORKS surface water · local government · WI2410169 | 18,659 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 2,167 people were held in Milwaukee County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2025). In 2020 it was about 1,449.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
18 school districts have their office in Milwaukee County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $1.5 billion — $1.3 billion to run schools, about $18,939 per student, plus $111.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $332.9 million local (mostly property tax), $797.3 million state, $364.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $225.8 million.
Spent $139.7 million — $111.9 million to run schools, about $15,776 per student, plus $5.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $44.9 million local (mostly property tax), $77.7 million state, $25.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $12.8 million.
Spent $115.5 million — $96.9 million to run schools, about $13,969 per student, plus $3.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $66.6 million local (mostly property tax), $41.1 million state, $7.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $108.5 million.
Spent $97.4 million — $83 million to run schools, about $12,744 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $51.1 million local (mostly property tax), $56.5 million state, $7.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $136.5 million.
Spent $70.4 million — $61.5 million to run schools, about $12,863 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $38.1 million local (mostly property tax), $37.7 million state, $4.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $52 million.
Spent $55 million — $47.2 million to run schools, about $13,523 per student, plus $649,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $24 million local (mostly property tax), $32.4 million state, $7 million federal. Long-term debt: $38 million.
Spent $40.8 million — $37.1 million to run schools, about $12,977 per student, plus $311,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $20.6 million local (mostly property tax), $22.5 million state, $3.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.6 million.
Spent $52 million — $42.4 million to run schools, about $15,277 per student, plus $3.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $19.1 million local (mostly property tax), $31.9 million state, $10.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.1 million.
And 10 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Milwaukee County about $342.1 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
897 bridges in Milwaukee County: 286 in good condition, 568 fair, and 43 poor (4.8%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| IH 94 WB-E-W FREEW over LRD MITCHELL BLVD · built 1959 | 79,000 vehicles a day |
| IH 41/USH 45/STH 1 over CTH W MILL RD (CTH S) · built 1967 | 58,500 vehicles a day |
| IH 41/USH 45/STH 1 over CTH W MILL RD (CTH S) · built 1967 | 58,500 vehicles a day |
| LRD W SILVER SPRIN over LINCOLN CREEK · built 1958 | 33,971 vehicles a day |
| LRD W LAYTON AVE over STH 24-FOREST HOME AVE · built 1963 | 26,700 vehicles a day |
| LRD N TEUTONIA AVE over LINCOLN CREEK · built 1936 | 21,845 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $748.8 million of work in Milwaukee County in fiscal 2025, about $797 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Wisconsin are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Milwaukee County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Milwaukee County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Wisconsin: the state government and every county in Wisconsin.
Nearby counties: Racine County (10 mi) · Kenosha County (22 mi) · Waukesha County (23 mi) · Washington County (38 mi) · Walworth County (38 mi) · Ozaukee County (41 mi).