What is the cost of living in Milwaukee-Waukesha?

Milwaukee-Waukesha has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.9, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 97.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,338/month.

What is the median salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha?

The median salary in Milwaukee-Waukesha is $71,499 annually (mean: $74,415). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Milwaukee-Waukesha?

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

What are the schools like in Milwaukee-Waukesha?

The state of WI has 2,205 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 10.7% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Milwaukee-Waukesha?

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

Is Milwaukee-Waukesha a good place to relocate?

Milwaukee-Waukesha has a Life Score of 50.1/100 (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 Milwaukee-Waukesha sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Milwaukee-Waukesha ranks #208 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

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

BEA RPP 96.9 sits mid-pack (#258 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.9
Cost index (US=100): $1,338
2BR rent / mo: $71,499
Median salary: 50.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Milwaukee-Waukesha ranks #208 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (50.7/100), with its strongest marks in job market and low hazard.

#208
of 387 US metros · Near median: 5,960,975
metro-area population: 280
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,205
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (19/100). 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), Milwaukee-Waukesha ranks #208 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.9 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,338/mo, median salary $71,499; LiveAbility Score 50.7/100, strongest in job market and low hazard.

Signature: BEA RPP 96.9 sits mid-pack (#258 of 387 metros); cost is not the extreme signal here.

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.9 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,338/mo.

LiveAbility 50.7/100 keeps Milwaukee-Waukesha in the middle third (#208 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Milwaukee-Waukesha area is 800,340.

Milwaukee-Waukesha 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)

51 Top 54% higher than 46% 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

Milwaukee-Waukesha housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Milwaukee-Waukesha MSA; housing RPP 97.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,338/mo.

Studio

$1,027

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,119

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,338

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,648

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,784

/month

Milwaukee-Waukesha wages and employment

Milwaukee-Waukesha posts 800,340 total employment with median salary $71,499.

Median Salary

$71,499

Mean Salary

$74,415

Total Employment

800,340

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$37,020
Registered Nurses	$97,360
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$44,840
Retail Salespersons	$34,410
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,440

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Milwaukee-Waukesha area from NCES.

Schools

2,205

Enrollment

814,921

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$11,256

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,203

per year

Preschool (Center)

$10,203

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Milwaukee-Waukesha's composite Life Score is 50.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

33/100

Weak

Wages

80/100

Elite

Rent

46/100

Average

Crime

61/100

Above average

Schools

48/100

Average

Childcare

41/100

Below average

Environment

25/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Milwaukee-Waukesha ranks #208 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 50.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (80/100)

Job market

80
Low hazard

66
Safety

61
Schools

52
Housing

46
Air quality

41
Cost of living

33
Climate

19

What this shows Milwaukee-Waukesha's strongest dimensions are job market and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 19/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Milwaukee-Waukesha to

Birmingham Bismarck Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bloomington Bloomington Boise City

Metros near Milwaukee-Waukesha on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Milwaukee-Waukesha 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

Milwaukee-Waukesha cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Milwaukee-Waukesha 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 →

Thinking about Milwaukee-Waukesha?

Milwaukee-Waukesha runs a $71,499 median salary at a 96.9 cost index, ranking #208 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Milwaukee-Waukesha's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Milwaukee-Waukesha head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Milwaukee-Waukesha
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

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