Milwaukee-Waukesha → Rockford

Moving from Milwaukee-Waukesha to Rockford shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 96.9 to 92.2 (100 = US average), so a Milwaukee-Waukesha salary needs to be multiplied by 0.95 to hold the same purchasing power in Rockford. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,338/month in Milwaukee-Waukesha to $1,175/month in Rockford - a lower monthly bill of $163, or $1,956/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $71,499 in Milwaukee-Waukesha versus $64,710 in Rockford - a raw gap of $6,789 lower. The Rockford labor market has 131,350 tracked jobs against 800,340 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Milwaukee-Waukesha and Rockford are 280 and 277 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.4:1 at origin versus 14:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $11,256/year in Milwaukee-Waukesha versus $12,257/year in Rockford. Our composite verdict - Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.