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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Finding the right city for a family isn't just about cheap rent — it's about income, healthcare, schools, and room to grow. We scored 2 cities in Wisconsin on the metrics families care about, and Milwaukee comes out on top with a cost index of 92, median income of $51,888, and a healthcare index of …
561,385 residents · Wisconsin
Here's Milwaukee by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 92. Rent: $1,398/month. Income: $51,888/year. Home price: $216,278. Population: 561,385. The strongest category is Housing at 81; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $5,964 per year vs. the national median. That's the kind of stat homebuyers should print out for their mortgage meetings.
280,305 residents · Wisconsin
A closer look at Madison: the cost index of 105 breaks down to a Utilities index of 97 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 113 (weakest). And roughly speaking, median rent is $1,649/month — 13% below the national median — while household income sits at $76,983, meaning locals spend about 26% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
#1 Ranked: Milwaukee — cost index 92, rent $1,398/mo, income $51,888
Milwaukee rent up 3% over the past year
Family-weighted scoring: income $51,888, healthcare index 95, population 561,385 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Finding the right city for a family isn't just about cheap rent — it's about income, healthcare, schools, and room to grow. We scored 2 cities in Wisconsin on the metrics families care about, and Milwaukee comes out on top with a cost index of 92, median income of $51,888, and a healthcare index of 95.
A closer look at Milwaukee: the cost index of 92 breaks down to a Housing index of 81 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,398/month — 26% below the national median — while household income sits at $51,888, meaning locals spend about 32% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
Bottom line: Milwaukee leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to families. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Milwaukee ranks #1 in Wisconsin for this analysis with a cost index of 92 and median income of $51,888.
Milwaukee scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,398/mo, and competitive median income of $51,888.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Milwaukee (ranked #1) has a cost index of 92 and rent of $1,398/mo, while Madison (ranked #2) has a cost index of 105 and rent of $1,649/mo — a 13-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Milwaukee is $1,398/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $497 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Milwaukee is $216,278, which is 4.2× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Wisconsin has a 7.65% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 5.44%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.51%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.