#31 of 66 for you
Milwaukee, WI
Lake Michigan summers, cheap housing, and a 1.5% property tax.
Left over monthly
$2,634
Versus Chicago
+$254/mo
+$3,048 a year
Local pay for your job
$91,933
Local wages run -2% vs national
Where the money goes
One earner filing as a household, at 1 bedrooms.
- Taxes$1,887
- Rent$1,245
- Other living costs$1,895
- Left over$2,634
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
- $1,245
- Groceries
- $384
- Getting around
- $503
- Healthcare
- $432
- Utilities and internet
- $240
- Everything else
- $336
- Total spending
- $3,140
Left over each month
$7,661 gross, minus $1,887 in tax and $3,140 in living costs.
$2,634
What living here is like
- Weather
- 190 sunny days, 81°F in July, 15°F January nights
- Getting around
- Plan on a car per adult
- Average commute
- 24 minutes each way
- Size
- 1.6M people
- Buying instead
- Median home $283,800 — roughly $2,057/mo with 20% down, tax and upkeep
- Taxes
- Wisconsin income tax. Sales tax 5.7%, property tax 1.53%.
How it scores against what you said matters
- Money left over
- 66
- Sun and mild weather
- 50
- Access to the outdoors
- 62
- City life and culture
- 66
- A short commute
- 70
Chicago vs Milwaukee, line by line
Same job, same household, both tax codes applied.
Open the comparison →Also worth a look
- Seattle, WA$3,406/mo
No state income tax and high wages, offset by home prices and 150 sunny days.
- Austin, TX$3,176/mo
No income tax, but property taxes are among the steepest anywhere.
- Houston, TX$3,159/mo
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
- Dallas, TX$3,044/mo
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.