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Chicago · Registered nurse · $98,500 · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
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Milwaukee skyline
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#72 of 387 for you

Milwaukee: $2,618/mo left

Move scoreB
Alabama: $2,168 left in a typical monthArizona: $2,126 left in a typical monthArkansas: $2,400 left in a typical monthCalifornia: $1,645 left in a typical monthColorado: $2,458 left in a typical monthConnecticut: $2,294 left in a typical monthDelaware: $1,980 left in a typical monthDistrict of Columbia: $2,913 left in a typical monthFlorida: $2,204 left in a typical monthGeorgia: $1,988 left in a typical monthIdaho: $2,056 left in a typical monthIllinois: $2,569 left in a typical monthIndiana: $2,407 left in a typical monthIowa: $2,838 left in a typical monthKansas: $2,391 left in a typical monthKentucky: $2,312 left in a typical monthLouisiana: $2,486 left in a typical monthMaine: $1,949 left in a typical monthMaryland: $2,359 left in a typical monthMassachusetts: $2,076 left in a typical monthMichigan: $2,360 left in a typical monthMinnesota: $2,600 left in a typical monthMississippi: $2,011 left in a typical monthMissouri: $2,581 left in a typical monthMontana: $2,222 left in a typical monthNebraska: $2,541 left in a typical monthNevada: $2,296 left in a typical monthNew Hampshire: $2,794 left in a typical monthNew Jersey: $1,864 left in a typical monthNew Mexico: $2,037 left in a typical monthNew York: $2,320 left in a typical monthNorth Carolina: $2,194 left in a typical monthNorth Dakota: $3,238 left in a typical monthOhio: $2,583 left in a typical monthOklahoma: $2,455 left in a typical monthOregon: $1,624 left in a typical monthPennsylvania: $2,380 left in a typical monthRhode Island: $2,094 left in a typical monthSouth Carolina: $2,108 left in a typical monthSouth Dakota: $2,780 left in a typical monthTennessee: $2,530 left in a typical monthTexas: $2,620 left in a typical monthUtah: $1,822 left in a typical monthVermont: $2,118 left in a typical monthVirginia: $2,326 left in a typical monthWashington: $2,473 left in a typical monthWest Virginia: $2,277 left in a typical monthWisconsin: $2,642 left in a typical monthWyoming: $2,849 left in a typical month
Less leftMore left
  • Property tax 1.53%
  • Rent under 30% of pay
  • Real winters

From your Chicago paycheck, you'd keep +$192/mo versus Chicago.

Compare

Versus Chicago.

Take the quizRank metros from Milwaukee

Left each month

$2,618

Versus Chicago

+$192/mo

+$2,304 a year

Local pay

$91,933

This job, this city

Top things to do in Milwaukee

More in Milwaukee
Paycheck to pocket
Monthly pay$7,661
Tax$1,887
Rent$1,261
Other bills$1,895
Left$2,618

Next

$2,618 / mo left

Alabama: $2,168 left in a typical monthArizona: $2,126 left in a typical monthArkansas: $2,400 left in a typical monthCalifornia: $1,645 left in a typical monthColorado: $2,458 left in a typical monthConnecticut: $2,294 left in a typical monthDelaware: $1,980 left in a typical monthDistrict of Columbia: $2,913 left in a typical monthFlorida: $2,204 left in a typical monthGeorgia: $1,988 left in a typical monthIdaho: $2,056 left in a typical monthIllinois: $2,569 left in a typical monthIndiana: $2,407 left in a typical monthIowa: $2,838 left in a typical monthKansas: $2,391 left in a typical monthKentucky: $2,312 left in a typical monthLouisiana: $2,486 left in a typical monthMaine: $1,949 left in a typical monthMaryland: $2,359 left in a typical monthMassachusetts: $2,076 left in a typical monthMichigan: $2,360 left in a typical monthMinnesota: $2,600 left in a typical monthMississippi: $2,011 left in a typical monthMissouri: $2,581 left in a typical monthMontana: $2,222 left in a typical monthNebraska: $2,541 left in a typical monthNevada: $2,296 left in a typical monthNew Hampshire: $2,794 left in a typical monthNew Jersey: $1,864 left in a typical monthNew Mexico: $2,037 left in a typical monthNew York: $2,320 left in a typical monthNorth Carolina: $2,194 left in a typical monthNorth Dakota: $3,238 left in a typical monthOhio: $2,583 left in a typical monthOklahoma: $2,455 left in a typical monthOregon: $1,624 left in a typical monthPennsylvania: $2,380 left in a typical monthRhode Island: $2,094 left in a typical monthSouth Carolina: $2,108 left in a typical monthSouth Dakota: $2,780 left in a typical monthTennessee: $2,530 left in a typical monthTexas: $2,620 left in a typical monthUtah: $1,822 left in a typical monthVermont: $2,118 left in a typical monthVirginia: $2,326 left in a typical monthWashington: $2,473 left in a typical monthWest Virginia: $2,277 left in a typical monthWisconsin: $2,642 left in a typical monthWyoming: $2,849 left in a typical monthChicagoMilwaukee
Less leftMore left
Milwaukee · this breakdownChicago · home

The month

One earner. 1 bd.

See full breakdown
  • Taxes$1,887
  • Rent$1,261
  • Other living costs$1,895
  • Left over$2,618

Pay and tax, per year

Gross household pay
$91,933
Federal income tax
−$11,839
Social Security and Medicare
−$7,033
State income tax (WI)
−$3,775
Take-home pay
$69,286
Effective tax rate
24.6%

Living costs, per month

Rent, 1br
$1,261
Groceries
$384
Getting around
$503
Healthcare
$432
Utilities and internet
$240
Everything else
$336
Total spending
$3,156

Left over each month

$7,661 gross, minus $1,887 in tax and $3,156 in living costs.

$2,618

County by county

4 counties. Rent is what residents pay, not asking rent.

Population, rent, home value, income and commute by county in Milwaukee, WI
CountyPeopleMedian rent2-bed rentHome valueIncomeCommute
Milwaukee CountyWI928k59%$1,069$1,102$216,500$62,11822 min
Waukesha CountyWI409k26%$1,300$1,342$373,600$104,10023 min
Washington CountyWI137k9%$1,126$1,114$316,200$95,85126 min
Ozaukee CountyWI92k6%$1,112$1,089$368,900$96,73423 min

Census ACS 2023. “—” is not published.

Working remotely

If the paycheck stays the same

One adult, one bedroom, $120,000 held flat in every city. That leaves $4,137 a month here after tax and rent. One-bedroom rent in that math is $1,261.

Work from home
12.9% of workers
ACS 2024 1-year
Home internet
77.5% of households
Cable, fiber optic, or DSL
Paid to move, remote job
No open remote grant on this metro

Worked-from-home share is Census B08006_017E divided by all workers (ACS 2024 1-year, or ACS 2023 5-year when the 1-year table has no metro). Internet is households with cable, fiber optic, or DSL, from ACS 2023 5-year.

Best cities for remote workersMoving from Wisconsin

USAJOBS

Federal jobs that pay relocation here

1 open posting marked relocation-eligible. Fetched October 10, 2026.

  • PUBLIC NOTICE- DEA Criminal Investigators

    Special Agent Recruitment (Drug Enforcement Administration) · $48,854–$82,938 a year

    Ponce, Puerto Rico · San Juan, Puerto Rico · Tyler, TX · +254 more · Tyler, TX, Waco, TX, St. George, UT +184 · Closes March 16, 2027

All federal jobs that pay relocation

The place

190 sunny days. July high 81°F. January nights 15°F. 24 min commute. A car per adult.

Weather
190 sunny days, 81°F in July, 15°F January nights
Getting around
A car per adult
Average commute
24 minutes each way
Size
1.6M people
Buying instead
Median home $283,800. About $2,057/mo with 20% down.
Taxes
Wisconsin income tax. Sales tax 5.7%, property tax 1.53%.

Fit

Money left over
68
Sun and mild weather
50
Being in a big city
66
Public school districts in Milwaukee

12 largest districts, NCES 2024-2025. This is districts, not every school. Students, school count, and pupils per teacher.

Public school districts in Milwaukee
DistrictCityStudentsSchoolsPupils / teacher
Milwaukee School DistrictMilwaukee65,59915416.5
Waukesha School DistrictWaukesha10,9222713.9
Elmbrook School DistrictBrookfield7,8451015.7
Wauwatosa School DistrictWauwatosa6,7041712.9
West Allis-West Milwaukee School DistrictWest Allis6,6151513.7
Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School DistrictOak Creek6,5541115.5
West Bend School DistrictWest Bend5,3651214.8
Hamilton School DistrictSussex5,131816.7
Oconomowoc Area School DistrictOconomowoc4,928814.3
Mukwonago School DistrictMukwonago4,835915.1
Franklin Public School DistrictFranklin4,666815.1
Muskego-Norway School DistrictMuskego4,602615.1

Chicago vs Milwaukee

Full comparison

More on this city

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Take-home by job in Milwaukee

Pay and leftover for every job in Milwaukee

Other Wisconsin metros

All Wisconsin metros

Questions

How is take-home pay in Milwaukee calculated?

Milwaukee is in Wisconsin, which taxes wage income. Take-home is a local salary minus federal tax, payroll tax, and that state tax. Leftover is what remains after rent.

What does rent cost in Milwaukee?

About $1,261 for a one-bedroom and $1,501 for a two-bedroom in Milwaukee, WI.

How do I compare Milwaukee with another city?

Put Milwaukee next to another city on the same job and household. The gap is the tax bill and the rent.

Also look at

Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.

Compare Milwaukee