What is the cost of living in Wausau?

Wausau has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 71.5, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,147/month.

What is the median salary in Wausau?

The median salary in Wausau is $63,772 annually (mean: $66,701). Top occupations include Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses.

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

What are the schools like in Wausau?

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 Wausau?

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

Is Wausau a good place to relocate?

Wausau has a Life Score of 54.1/100 (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 Wausau sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Wausau ranks #63 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

Wausau, WI

LiveAbility 59.6/100 places Wausau #63 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,147
2BR rent / mo: $63,772
Median salary: 59.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Wausau ranks #63 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (59.6/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and housing.

#63
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 (21/100). 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), Wausau ranks #63 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,147/mo, median salary $63,772; LiveAbility Score 59.6/100, strongest in air quality and housing.

Signature: LiveAbility 59.6/100 places Wausau #63 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,147/mo.

LiveAbility 59.6/100 puts Wausau in the top third (#63 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Wausau area is 63,730.

Wausau 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)

60 Top 16% higher than 84% 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

Wausau housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Wausau MSA; housing RPP 71.5 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,147/mo.

Studio

$791

/month

1 Bedroom

$889

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,147

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,511

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,519

/month

Wausau wages and employment

Wausau posts 63,730 total employment with median salary $63,772.

Median Salary

$63,772

Mean Salary

$66,701

Total Employment

63,730

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators	$45,670
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$43,460
Registered Nurses	$89,190
Retail Salespersons	$34,160
Cashiers	$30,480

Schools & Education

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

Schools

2,205

Enrollment

814,921

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$11,256

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,203

per year

Preschool (Center)

$10,203

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Wausau's composite Life Score is 54.1/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

58/100

Above average

Wages

56/100

Above average

Rent

73/100

Strong

Crime

60/100

Above average

Schools

49/100

Average

Childcare

39/100

Below average

Environment

26/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Wausau ranks #63 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 59.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (84/100)

Air quality

84
Housing

73
Low hazard

65
Safety

60
Cost of living

58
Job market

56
Schools

51
Climate

21

What this shows Wausau's strongest dimensions are air quality and housing; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 21/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Wausau to

Birmingham Bismarck Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bloomington Bloomington Boise City

Metros near Wausau on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Wausau 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

Wausau cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Wausau 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 Wausau?

Wausau runs a $63,772 median salary at a 92.7 cost index, ranking #63 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Wausau's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Wausau head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Wausau
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.