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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 2 cities in Wisconsin: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Milwaukee — index 92, 7.65% state tax — leads.
#1 Ranked: Milwaukee — cost index 92, rent $1,398/mo, income $51,888
Milwaukee rent up 3% over the past year
Veteran scoring: cost index 92, state tax 7.65%, healthcare index 95 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Military veterans have earned every benefit — where do those benefits go furthest? We analyzed 2 cities in Wisconsin: cost, state taxes, and supplemental healthcare. Milwaukee — index 92, 7.65% state tax — leads.
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.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
561,385 residents · Wisconsin
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.
280,305 residents · Wisconsin
What does daily life actually cost in Madison? Start with the 26% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. That's more or less in line with the region. On the category level, Utilities (index 97) is where the real savings show up, while Housing (index 113) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $76,983 and homes at $415,530 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to military veterans. 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 military veterans 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.