Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 27/100
F
Median home value$184,000
Milwaukee $306,400
Median rent$1,059/mo
Milwaukee $1,139/mo
Cost-burdened households40%
Milwaukee 31%
Milwaukee
Milwaukee County566,973 residentsMilwaukee School District
50
D+
Suburbgrade score
30th of 30 Milwaukee suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by schools.
50
Milwaukee median 65
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Milwaukee yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 50 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Milwaukee is like to live in, by category
Bars show Milwaukee against Milwaukee. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 23/100
F
Within-state proficiency2nd pct
Milwaukee median 81st pct
Student–teacher ratio16.6
Milwaukee median 14.6
Graduation rate69%
Milwaukee median 97%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 66/100
C+
Housing cost index88
Milwaukee 100
Eff. tax rate1.86%
Milwaukee 1.38%
Local sales tax5.72%
Milwaukee median 5.72%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 75/100
B
Mean commute22.4 min
Milwaukee 22.7 min
Under 30 minutes73%
Milwaukee 71%
Transit stops / sq mi43
Milwaukee median 0.1 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 88/100
A
Restaurants & cafés85
Milwaukee median 34 · within 2 miles
Groceries16
Milwaukee median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks152
Milwaukee median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median household income$54,234
Milwaukee $78,218
Unemployment6.2%
Milwaukee 3.8%
Professional occupations35%
Milwaukee 44%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Milwaukee yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Milwaukee on schools
Milwaukee's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbSchoolsOverall
Shorewood4 mi from MilwaukeeA 72 B− Whitefish Bay5 mi from MilwaukeeA 79 B+ Cedarburg16 mi from MilwaukeeA 69 B− Mequon11 mi from MilwaukeeA− 70 B− Greendale9 mi from MilwaukeeA− 69 B− Lisbon16 mi from MilwaukeeA− 68 B− Within-state proficiency: EDFacts SY2021–22 · Graduation rate: EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19
Common questions about living in Milwaukee
Is Milwaukee, WI a good place to live?
Milwaukee scores 50 out of 100, 30th of 30 Milwaukee suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on schools. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Milwaukee expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $184,000, 40% below the Milwaukee median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.86%. $1,059/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Milwaukee?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Milwaukee sit at the 2nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 69% graduation rate and a 16.6 student–teacher ratio. Milwaukee is served by Milwaukee School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Milwaukee?
The mean commute is 22.4 min, with 73% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 13% working from home. Transit density is 43 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Milwaukee?
Within two miles there are 16 groceries, 85 restaurants and cafés and 152 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Milwaukee old or new?
The median home in Milwaukee was built in 1953 — older than the Milwaukee median of 1967. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 43% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.