Houston, TX vs Milwaukee, WI
Moving from Houston to Milwaukee? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $390,238 median home) and taxes.
Houston 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $95,927 in Milwaukee, WI (−$4,073).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Milwaukee, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee ($147 vs $230 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Milwaukee, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $18,456 | −$1,212 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,691 | −$393 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,085 | −$590 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,076 | +$240 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,300 | −$2,300 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $13,873 | +$6,474 |
| Total | $41,263 | $43,481 | +$2,218 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Milwaukee, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 3.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.44 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $390,238 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 5.3% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $230 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,538 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 1.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 55.6 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 59% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |