Cost of living in Milwaukee, WI.

BEA Regional Price Parities

Cost of living vs the U.S.

Applies to the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metropolitan area.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 · Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area · methodology →

ACS 5-Year 2020–2024

Owner costs.

Owner cost & property tax — place-grain from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Median monthly selected owner costs (SMOC) cover mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and condo fees where applicable; real-estate taxes paid is the median property-tax bill for owner-occupied units.

Source: ACS 5-Year 2020–2024 · ACS 5-Year Estimates 2020-2024 (released 2026-01-29) · place-grain · methodology →

For rent figures (HUD Fair Market Rent, SAFMR ZIP-grain), see Housing on the Milwaukee profile.

EIA State Energy Prices

State energy prices.

Utility prices in Wisconsin — applies to Wisconsin statewide (electricity and natural gas) or its PADD region (gasoline). Residential rates are state averages, not what any specific household pays.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · state-grain · methodology →

Census Gov Finances FY2022

State tax burden.

Tax burden in Wisconsin — combined state + local taxes per capita, from the U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (FY2022). Population denominator: Census PEP 2022 state estimate. State-grain only; this is revenue divided by people, not a household tax bill. "vs U.S. state average" compares one state to the unweighted mean across all 51 states + DC.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances · FY2022 · state-grain · methodology →

State Income Tax TY2025

State income tax.

Single filer rates for tax year 2025. Wisconsin standard deduction phases out at higher incomes; $13,560 shown is the maximum for single filers TY2025.

Income tax: state-level only. Local income taxes (e.g., NYC resident tax, Yonkers surcharge, Portland-OR Metro tax, Maryland county tax, Philadelphia wage tax, OH/KY/MI city income taxes) appear in the Local income tax section below when modeled. Effective rate at $75k is illustrative only — single filer with state standard deduction, no itemized deductions, no credits.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Revenue · TY2025 · state-grain · methodology →

Tax Foundation TY2025

State + local sales tax.

Sales tax: state-grain. The "average local rate" is Tax Foundation's population-weighted state-average; actual local rates vary by city, county, and special taxing district. Selective sales taxes (hotels, meals, car rentals) and excise taxes (gasoline, tobacco, alcohol) are excluded.

Source: Tax Foundation · state statutes · TY2025 · methodology →

USDA Food Plans + Food Atlas

Food and grocery access.

Food and grocery access. USDA national food-cost reference plus USDA Food Environment Atlas county-level food access. National plan values are not adjusted for local prices.

Food Atlas county: Milwaukee County, WI. USDA Food Plans observation: July 2025. Alaska and Hawaii shoppers should expect substantially higher prices than the national figure. See food methodology.

Monthly Household Budget Benchmark

Household budget.

Monthly Household Budget Benchmark — estimated monthly cost of basic needs, composed from federal public-domain sources. Two compositions: single adult (1BR rental) and family of four, two adults working, two children ages 4 and 8 (3BR rental). Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite index. Methodology informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator and EPI Family Budget Calculator; figures independently computed from primary federal sources.

Component grains range from ZIP or county (housing, per HUD SAFMR/FMR coverage) to national (CEX-based rows adjusted to state price level via BEA Regional Price Parities). Childcare: county-grain DOL NDCP 2022, inflated by BLS CPI Child Care subindex (factor 1.2293, Jan 2022 → Apr 2026). Local income tax modeled for ~3,100+ jurisdictions in 16 states. Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See household budget methodology, family-of-four methodology, and local income tax methodology.

Methodology

How these figures are computed.

Every figure on this page comes from a primary federal source. No composite index is produced; figures are presented per-component with grain labels so readers can trace each number to its source.

• BEA Regional Price Parities → — Bureau of Economic Analysis RPP 2024, Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area.
• ACS owner costs → — American Community Survey 5-Year 2020–2024 tables B25088 (SMOC) and B25103 (real-estate taxes).
• EIA energy prices → — U.S. Energy Information Administration state residential electricity, natural gas, and PADD-region gasoline.
• State tax burden → — U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances FY2022.
• State income tax → — Wisconsin Department of Revenue rate schedule TY2025.
• Sales tax → — Tax Foundation state + average local combined rate study TY2025.
• Food plans → — USDA CNPP Cost of Food Plans and USDA ERS Food Environment Atlas county-grain access data.
• Single-adult budget → — F1 composite from HUD FMR/SAFMR, BLS CEX, BEA RPP, USDA CNPP, IRS rev. proc., and state + local income tax.
• Family-of-four budget → — F2 composite adds DOL NDCP 2022 childcare (CPI-inflated) and child-specific food + tax adjustments.
• Cost-of-living URL split (Batch J) → — why this data has its own sub-page.

Related.

• ← Full Milwaukee, WI profile — population, demographics, housing market, schools, climate, economy
• Housing on the Milwaukee profile — median home value, rent, HUD FMR + SAFMR ZIP-grain rents
• Local economy on the Milwaukee profile — wages, employment, top industries
• Compare household budgets — side-by-side budget comparison using the same federal data
• All cities by cost of living — national ranking by BEA RPP