Milwaukee, Wisconsin Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B

Overall 12%

Goods & Services 7%

Housing 31%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	National
Cost of living	88	96	100
Goods & Services	93	99	100
Groceries	97	100	100
Health care	110	112	100
Housing	69	88	100
Transportation	95	99	100
Utilities	100	100	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Milwaukee is 9% lower than the Wisconsin average
The cost of living in Milwaukee is 12% lower than the national average
Milwaukee housing is 31% lower than the national average
Wisconsin general sales tax is 2% lower than the national average
Wisconsin state income tax is 62% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$57,892	$4,824	$1,351	$1,737
Renters	$25,745	$2,145	$601	$772

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Milwaukee, WI, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Milwaukee, homeowners have a median income of $57,892. Using that number, a maximum of $1,351 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $25,745, which means there is a maximum of $601 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Wisconsin Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Wisconsin	5%	6.75%

Wisconsin Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Wisconsin	4%	7.65%

Goods & Services

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$23.86	$20.27	17.7%
Beauty Salon	$43.40	$40.39	7.4%
Toothpaste	$2.06	$2.36	12.8%
Shampoo	$1.00	$1.08	7.4%
Movie	$11.20	$10.99	2.0%
Bowling	$18.08	$15.49	16.7%

Groceries

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.28	$4.30	0.4%
Fried Chicken	$1.32	$1.40	5.9%
Milk	$2.32	$2.20	5.2%
Potatoes	$2.59	$3.22	19.5%
Pizza	$11.29	$10.74	5.1%
Beer	$8.08	$9.60	15.8%

Health Care

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$66.80	$109.73	39.1%
Doctor	$182.44	$118.34	54.2%
Dentist	$102.53	$100.94	1.6%
Ibuprofen	$9.91	$9.93	0.2%
Lipitor	$482.04	$469.53	2.7%

Housing

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$115,500.00	$184,700.00	37.5%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,219.99	$1,229.62	0.8%
Apartment Rent	$798.00	$949.00	15.9%

Transportation

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.59	$2.71	4.6%
Tire Balancing	$48.43	$51.86	6.6%

Utilities

Item	Milwaukee	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$174.49	$170.84	2.1%
Phone	$182.09	$187.18	2.7%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
West Milwaukee, WI	4,214	90	10.4%
West Allis, WI	60,543	90	9.7%
St. Francis, WI	9,516	90	9.6%
Cudahy, WI	18,321	91	8.6%
South Milwaukee, WI	21,197	92	8.1%
Milwaukee, WI	598,672	88	12.3%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Louisville, KY	611,573	95	4.5%
Las Vegas, NV	613,295	102	1.8%
Oklahoma City, OK	620,015	88	11.8%
Portland, OR	620,589	124	24.4%
Baltimore, MD	621,000	99	1.3%
Milwaukee, WI	598,672	88	12.3%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.