Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0How is Fond du Lac run?
Fond du Lac’s city government spent $66.1 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,490 per resident. Water and other utilities ($10.5 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Fond du Lac is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,490 per resident a year, or $4.08 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 20%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,281 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Fond du Lac’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,281 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 21 Wisconsin cities of 25,000–49,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,227, and the middle half spent $1,125–$1,533. Fond du Lac spent more than 57% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($12.2 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Wisconsin cities of 25,000–49,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Fond du Lac itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 20% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Fond du Lac reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,281 · 2023: $1,341 · 2024: $1,490.
full-time in March 2025, up from 300 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,074 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.77% of the home’s value, vs 1.42% across Wisconsin.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Fond du Lac’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Fond du Lac’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Fond du Lac →
Who’s in charge in Fond du Lac
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Fond du Lac’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on fdl.wi.gov ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 144 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (44,339).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Fond du Lac School District
Fond du Lac’s K–12 school district, shared with Empire, Fond du Lac, Taycheedah. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,921 per pupil, $8,932 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Wisconsin districts overall: 39% local, 50% state, 11% federal.
North Fond du Lac School District · $14,308 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
How Fond du Lac voted in 2024
Official results for Fond du Lac’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.
Donald J TrumpRepublican53.9%11,458 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat44.6%9,486 votesOthers: 1.5% (311 votes).
Most votes in Fond du Lac: Donald J Trump
Fond du Lac County: Trump 63.7%, Harris 35.0% · Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%
of Fond du Lac’s 33,378 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Wisconsin: 76%.
Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).
Most votes in Fond du Lac: Eric Hovde
Fond du Lac County: Hovde 61.9%, Baldwin 35.8% · Wisconsin: Baldwin 49.3%, Hovde 48.5%
Most votes in the district: Glenn Grothman
Whole-district result
President, 2024: Fond du Lac, its county and the state
| Trump | Harris | Others | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fond du Lac | 53.9% | 44.6% | 1.5% | 21,255 |
| Fond du Lac County | 63.7% | 35.0% | 1.3% | 58,527 |
| Wisconsin | 49.6% | 48.7% | 1.7% | 3,422,918 |
Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Fond du Lac.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: fdl.wi.gov ↗
- 2Wisconsin AssemblyState representatives
- 3Wisconsin SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Wisconsin
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Fond du Lac compares with the towns next door
Fond du Lac spent $1,281 per resident in 2022. Most of its neighbors are townships, a different kind of government, so the like-for-like comparison is with similar cities, above. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Friendship | $269 | $2,842 |
| Taycheedah | $303 | $3,858 |
| Empire | $306 | $4,274 |
| North Fond du Lac | $1,217 | $2,722 |
| Fond du Lac | $1,281 | $3,074 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Fond du Lac’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Fond du Lac’s government
How much does Fond du Lac spend per resident?
About $1,490 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,281 was more than 57% of 21 Wisconsin cities of 25,000–49,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Fond du Lac?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,074 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.77% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.42% across Wisconsin. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see fdl.wi.gov.
Who runs Fond du Lac’s government?
See fdl.wi.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Fond du Lac yet.
How did Fond du Lac vote in 2024?
For president, Donald J Trump 53.9%, Kamala D Harris 44.6% (21,255 votes, official results). Fond du Lac County: Trump 63.7%, Harris 35.0%. Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%.
How many people work for Fond du Lac?
307 full-time and 84 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $2.3M (about $27.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Fond du Lac in the state legislature?
State Senate District 20 (Dan Feyen) and Assembly District 60 (Jerry O'Connor). The Assembly district also covers four other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Fond du Lac’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →