Houston, TX → Milwaukee, WI
Moving to Milwaukee costs you $525 a month
−$6,300 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 131 households moved Houston → Milwaukee (avg AGI $58,443). 288 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Houston | Milwaukee | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $7,646 | −$312 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $1,882 | +$221 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,764 | −$533 |
| Rent | $1,199 | $1,245 | +$46 |
| Getting around | $572 | $503 | −$69 |
| Groceries | $380 | $384 | +$4 |
| Healthcare | $428 | $432 | +$4 |
| Utilities | $238 | $240 | +$2 |
| Everything else | $333 | $336 | +$3 |
| Left over | $3,149 | $2,624 | −$525 |
To break even in Milwaukee, you'd need to earn
$101,500
Household gross, versus $95,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Houston does now.
The tax difference alone
−$3,765
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Houston, 24.6% in Milwaukee.
More about Milwaukee
Houston, TX in full
The cheapest housing of any top-10 metro, paid for in property tax and humidity.
Milwaukee, WI in full
Lake Michigan summers, cheap housing, and a 1.5% property tax.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Milwaukee on Milwaukee wages.
Milwaukee → Houston →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.