Overall
96.9
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Cost-of-living indicators for Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 96.9
- Overall RPP
- #130
- of 387 metros
- 97.1
- Rents RPP
- $103K
- $100K national buys
Milwaukee ranks #130 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Tucson
The verdict
Milwaukee costs less than 34% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 96.9, 3.1% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 91.6.
- bottom 66%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 93.8
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 91.6
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $103,160 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $96,937.
Service-cost relief profile
How Milwaukee's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in Milwaukee: their index is 91.6, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 96.9 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ, Madison, WI, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC. They resemble Milwaukee across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Milwaukee's overall index has stayed within 0.8 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Milwaukee vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
97 Top 34% higher than 66% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Milwaukee cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
97.1 RPP
- Services
Services
91.6 RPP
- Overall
Overall
96.9 RPP
- Goods
Goods
93.8 RPP
What this shows Milwaukee's strongest departure is services at 91.6; goods follows at 93.8. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Milwaukee's cost comes from
Metros near Milwaukee's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Milwaukee (Milwaukee, this metro): goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 97.1
- Tucson: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 91.8
- Great Falls: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 97.1
- Crestview: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 94.9
- Rochester: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 87.5
- Reading: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 85.4
- Gainesville: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 93.5
Price Index Summary
Goods
93.8
Below avg
Services
91.6
Below avg
Rents
97.1
Below avg
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.8 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index dropped 4.9 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Milwaukee overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 97.7 |
| 2009 | 98.7 |
| 2010 | 97.5 |
| 2011 | 96.3 |
| 2012 | 97.6 |
| 2013 | 97.2 |
| 2014 | 97.1 |
| 2015 | 97.9 |
| 2016 | 99.1 |
| 2017 | 100.8 |
| 2018 | 96.0 |
| 2019 | 97.6 |
| 2020 | 95.7 |
| 2021 | 95.6 |
| 2022 | 95.1 |
| 2023 | 95.7 |
| 2024 | 96.9 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Milwaukee's overall RPP rose +1.3 points, from 95.7 in 2023 to 96.9 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 94.0 to 97.1. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$96,937
in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$48,469
$75,000 nationally
$72,703
$125,000 nationally
$121,171
$150,000 nationally
$145,406
$200,000 nationally
$193,874
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
D
28/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
28th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Milwaukee's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
Goods 96.2 · Services 91.5 · Rents 98.8 Madison, WI
Goods 93.8 · Services 89.8 · Rents 99.7 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.2 · Rents 97.6 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Goods 96.6 · Services 89.3 · Rents 98.9 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 89.0 · Rents 94.9 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
Goods 96.2 · Services 88.5 · Rents 98.8
WI-relative analysis
Goods prices places Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI near the bottom of WI's metros
Among the 13 WI metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI ranks #3 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 13
0th percentile in WI
Services prices
#1 of 13
92nd percentile in WI
Rent prices
#2 of 13
85th percentile in WI
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within WI only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (96.9 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (97.1 here).
Other WI Metros
Kenosha, WI 101.1 Madison, WI 97.3 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI 96.0 Sheboygan, WI 94.0 Janesville-Beloit, WI 93.7 Green Bay, WI 93.1
View all WI metros → Cheapest in WI → Most expensive in WI →
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI's index of 96.9.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Milwaukee
How to read Milwaukee's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $103,160 in Milwaukee. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 91.6, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Milwaukee head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 96.9, meaning it is 3.1% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 93.8, services at 91.6, and rents at 97.1. It ranks #130 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $96,937 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI. Conversely, $100K earned in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI has the purchasing power of $103,160 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?
Rents in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI are indexed at 97.1, which is 2.9% below the national average. This is close to the U.S. average.
Is Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI's overall cost index changed by -0.8 points (from 97.7 to 96.9). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?
The priciest category in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI is rents at 97.1, 2.9% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 91.6, 8.4% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Tucson, Great Falls, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI's 96.9.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.