What is the cost of living in Appleton?

Appleton has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 70.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,236/month.

What is the median salary in Appleton?

The median salary in Appleton is $65,438 annually (mean: $68,344). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Appleton?

The violent crime rate in the Appleton area is 280 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1157 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Appleton?

The state of WI has 2,205 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.1:1. About 50.5% are Title I schools. Charter schools make up 10.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Appleton?

Infant center-based childcare in the Appleton area averages $11,256 per year. Preschool averages $10,203/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Appleton a good place to relocate?

Appleton has a Life Score of 53.5/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Appleton sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Appleton ranks #46 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Appleton, WI

LiveAbility 60.7/100 places Appleton #46 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,236
2BR rent / mo: $65,438
Median salary: 60.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Appleton ranks #46 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (60.7/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and low hazard.

#46
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 5,960,975
metro-area population: 280
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,205
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (29/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Appleton ranks #46 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,236/mo, median salary $65,438; LiveAbility Score 60.7/100, strongest in air quality and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 60.7/100 places Appleton #46 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.4 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,236/mo.

LiveAbility 60.7/100 puts Appleton in the top third (#46 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Appleton area is 117,960.

Appleton vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

61 Top 13% higher than 87% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Appleton housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Appleton MSA; housing RPP 70.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,236/mo.

Studio

$858

/month

1 Bedroom

$960

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,236

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,701

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,776

/month

Appleton wages and employment

Appleton posts 117,960 total employment with median salary $65,438.

Median Salary

$65,438

Mean Salary

$68,344

Total Employment

117,960

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$34,540
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$29,010
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$37,010
Cashiers	$31,610
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$43,610

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Appleton area from NCES.

Schools

2,205

Enrollment

814,921

Student:Teacher

14.1:1

Title I %

50.5%

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Appleton area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,256

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,203

per year

Preschool (Center)

$10,203

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Appleton's composite Life Score is 53.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

60/100

Above average

Wages

60/100

Above average

Rent

59/100

Above average

Crime

63/100

Above average

Schools

46/100

Average

Childcare

43/100

Below average

Environment

23/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Appleton ranks #46 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 60.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (88/100)

Air quality

88
Low hazard

68
Safety

63
Cost of living

60
Job market

60
Housing

59
Schools

54
Climate

29

What this shows Appleton's strongest dimensions are air quality and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 29/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Appleton to

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Roanoke Rochester Rochester Rockford Rocky Mount

Metros near Appleton on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Appleton on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Appleton cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Appleton wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

What to do with the Appleton numbers

Here is where Appleton stands: a $65,438 median salary, a 92.4 cost index and a LiveAbility rank of #46 of 387.

Turn Appleton's pay and cost figures into a number for your own budget. Salary calculator
Compare Appleton with a second city on the same dimensions. Compare Appleton
In this corpus the closest related metro is Abilene; see how the two compare. Abilene profile
When cost and LiveAbility disagree, the guide shows how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.