Las Vegas, NV vs Milwaukee, WI
Moving from Las Vegas to Milwaukee? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($430,650 → $390,238 median home) and taxes.
Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas, NV, you'd need about $97,340 in Milwaukee, WI (−$2,660).
Livability — Las Vegas, NV: 65 · Milwaukee, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas vs 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee ($227 vs $230 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Las Vegas, NV | Milwaukee, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,844 | $18,456 | −$2,388 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,691 | −$150 |
| Transportation | $4,740 | $3,085 | −$1,655 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $2,076 | +$528 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $4,779 | $13,873 | +$9,094 |
| Total | $38,052 | $43,481 | +$5,429 |
Side by side
| Metric | Las Vegas, NV | Milwaukee, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.66% | 3.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 45 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.44 |
| Median home price | $430,650 | $390,238 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.7% | 5.3% |
| Price per square foot | $227 | $230 |
| Median rent | $1,737 | $1,538 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.6% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.23% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 0.51% | 1.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $11,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.12% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $500 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.3 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.20 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 95 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 8 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |