Chicago, IL vs Milwaukee, WI
Moving from Chicago to Milwaukee? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($353,998 → $390,238 median home) and taxes.
Chicago vs Milwaukee at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Chicago, IL, you'd need about $93,351 in Milwaukee, WI (−$6,649).
Livability — Chicago, IL: 63 · Milwaukee, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,402 sqft in Chicago vs 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee ($208 vs $230 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chicago, IL | Milwaukee, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,192 | $18,456 | −$8,736 |
| Groceries | $5,215 | $4,691 | −$524 |
| Transportation | $3,550 | $3,085 | −$465 |
| Utilities | $2,208 | $2,076 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $1,900 | $1,300 | −$600 |
| Taxes | $14,141 | $13,873 | −$268 |
| Total | $54,206 | $43,481 | −$10,726 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chicago, IL | Milwaukee, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.19% | 3.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.44 |
| Median home price | $353,998 | $390,238 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.4% | 5.3% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $230 |
| Median rent | $2,266 | $1,538 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.9% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.86% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.95% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 1.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $14,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 20.5 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $57 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $77 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 15 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 40.9 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 38.8 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |