Philadelphia, PA vs Milwaukee, WI
Moving from Philadelphia to Milwaukee? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $390,238 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $93,463 in Milwaukee, WI (−$6,537).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Milwaukee, WI: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee ($223 vs $230 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Milwaukee, WI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $18,456 | −$4,512 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,691 | −$218 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,085 | −$355 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $2,076 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,300 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $13,873 | +$3,681 |
| Total | $45,025 | $43,481 | −$1,544 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Milwaukee, WI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 95.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 3.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | -0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.44 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $390,238 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 5.3% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $230 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,538 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 5.43% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 7.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 1.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 19.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $42 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 320 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 8 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 34.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 23.1 | 48.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |