Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5How is Waterloo run?
Waterloo’s city government spent $4.7 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $1,308 per resident. Water and other utilities ($4.8 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Waterloo is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,308 per resident a year, or $3.58 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 29%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,287 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Waterloo’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,287 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 134 Wisconsin cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,174, and the middle half spent $990–$1,415. Waterloo spent more than 62% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1 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 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Waterloo itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 11% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Waterloo 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: $1,287 · 2023: $1,302 · 2024: $1,308. Per resident it went from $1,287 to $1,308 (up 2%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 3,322 to 3,628.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,744 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.62% 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 Waterloo’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 Waterloo’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Waterloo →
Who’s in charge in Waterloo
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 113 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,628).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Waterloo School District
Waterloo’s K–12 school district, shared with Portland, Waterloo. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $17,167 per pupil, $9,114 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.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
How Waterloo voted in 2024
Official results for Waterloo’s own voters, as certified after the November 5, 2024 general election, with the county and the state beside them.
Donald J TrumpRepublican50.7%993 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat48.4%947 votesOthers: 0.9% (17 votes).
Most votes in Waterloo: Donald J Trump
Jefferson County: Trump 57.4%, Harris 41.0% · Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%
of Waterloo’s 2,708 adult citizens voted for president in 2024. Across Wisconsin: 76%.
Votes ÷ citizens of voting age (Census CVAP, 2020–24 ACS).
Most votes in Waterloo: Tammy Baldwin
Jefferson County: Hovde 56.4%, Baldwin 41.5% · Wisconsin: Baldwin 49.3%, Hovde 48.5%
Most votes in the district: Scott Fitzgerald
Whole-district result
President, 2024: Waterloo, its county and the state
| Trump | Harris | Others | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 50.7% | 48.4% | 0.9% | 1,957 |
| Jefferson County | 57.4% | 41.0% | 1.6% | 50,146 |
| 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 Waterloo.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 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 Waterloo compares with the towns next door
Waterloo spent $1,287 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.
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 Waterloo’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Waterloo’s government
How much does Waterloo spend per resident?
About $1,308 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 $1,287 was more than 62% of 134 Wisconsin cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Waterloo?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,744 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.62% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.42% across Wisconsin. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Waterloo’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Waterloo yet.
How did Waterloo vote in 2024?
For president, Donald J Trump 50.7%, Kamala D Harris 48.4% (1,957 votes, official results). Jefferson County: Trump 57.4%, Harris 41.0%. Wisconsin: Trump 49.6%, Harris 48.7%.
How many people work for Waterloo?
32 full-time and 34 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $204,487 (about $2.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Waterloo in the state legislature?
State Senate District 16 (Melissa Ratcliff) and Assembly District 46 (Joan Fitzgerald). The Assembly district also covers 20 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Waterloo’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 →