Milwaukee, WI vs Phoenix, AZ
Moving from Milwaukee to Phoenix? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,238 → $448,352 median home) and taxes.
Milwaukee vs Phoenix 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 $109,411 in Phoenix, AZ (+$9,411).
Livability — Milwaukee, WI: 62 · Phoenix, AZ: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee vs 2,063 sqft in Phoenix ($230 vs $242 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Milwaukee, WI | Phoenix, AZ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,456 | $20,904 | +$2,448 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,919 | +$228 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,960 | +$875 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,668 | −$408 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $13,873 | $7,280 | −$6,592 |
| Total | $43,481 | $40,531 | −$2,950 |
Side by side
| Metric | Milwaukee, WI | Phoenix, AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 104.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.84% | 4.88% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 6.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.44 | $5.96 |
| Median home price | $390,238 | $448,352 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 5.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.3% | -1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $230 | $242 |
| Median rent | $1,538 | $1,742 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 2.50% |
| Property tax rate | 1.62% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $12,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.68% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $550 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 15.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $54 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $42 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $85 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 104 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 41 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 34.6 | 7.2 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 48.7 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 54% | 85% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |