Milwaukee, WI vs Cleveland, OH
Moving from Milwaukee to Cleveland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,238 → $252,210 median home) and taxes.
Milwaukee vs Cleveland 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 Milwaukee, WI, you'd need about $95,535 in Cleveland, OH (−$4,465).
Livability — Milwaukee, WI: 62 · Cleveland, OH: 71 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee vs 3,270 sqft in Cleveland ($230 vs $153 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Milwaukee, WI | Cleveland, OH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,456 | $17,532 | −$924 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,830 | +$139 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,025 | −$60 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $2,100 | +$24 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,300 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $13,873 | $9,518 | −$4,354 |
| Total | $43,481 | $38,305 | −$5,176 |
Side by side
| Metric | Milwaukee, WI | Cleveland, OH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.84% | 5.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 0.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.44 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $390,238 | $252,210 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.3% | 4.3% |
| Price per square foot | $230 | $153 |
| Median rent | $1,538 | $1,461 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 10.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 7.24% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 3.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.62% | 1.84% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,300 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 19.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.25 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $104 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 20 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 41.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 63.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 49% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |