Milwaukee

Best Milwaukee suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·30 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Lake Michigan, Whitefish Bay, Big Bay Park. Milwaukee, WI USA (2023)
Whitefish Bay$534k median · 20.8 min commute
Schools AAmenities B+Residents inactive
78
Family score
overall 79 B+
2
Shorewood Village Hall, Shorewood, National Registered Historic Place.
Shorewood$444k median · 20.8 min commute
Schools AAmenities BResidents inactive
75
Family score
overall 72 B−
3
Village of Wauwatosa and the Menomonee River.
Wauwatosa$339k median · 19.5 min commute
Schools BAmenities A−Residents inactive
74
Family score
overall 74 B
4
The village hall in the village of Greendale, Wisconsin. The hall is part of the Greendale Historic District.
Greendale$314k median · 23.0 min commute
Schools A−Amenities BResidents inactive
73
Family score
overall 69 B−
5
The Washington Building
Cedarburg$422k median · 22.4 min commute
Schools AAmenities C+Residents inactive
73
Family score
overall 69 B−
6
The New Berlin Public Library in New Berlin, Wisconsin (United States).
New Berlin$366k median · 21.7 min commute
Schools B+Amenities C−Residents inactive
71
Family score
overall 70 B−
7
Main Street Historic District
Menomonee Falls$368k median · 20.8 min commute
Schools B+Amenities CResidents inactive
70
Family score
overall 70 B−
8
Picture taken by me
Oconomowoc$395k median · 24.6 min commute
Schools A−Amenities C−Residents inactive
70
Family score
overall 68 B−
9
Office Park Drone
Brookfield$444k median · 20.7 min commute
Schools A−Amenities C−Residents inactive
70
Family score
overall 72 B−
10
Pewaukee
Pewaukee$447k median · 19.6 min commute
Schools BAmenities CResidents inactive
69
Family score
overall 71 B−
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Milwaukee lists
Most affordable Milwaukee suburbsBest Milwaukee suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown MilwaukeeMost walkable Milwaukee suburbsBest Milwaukee suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Milwaukee suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Whitefish Bay (Gnome70 · CC BY-SA 4.0); Shorewood (Freekee · Public domain); Wauwatosa (The original uploader was Schwnj at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.5); Greendale (TheCatalyst31 · CC0); Cedarburg (Loopygrumpkins (talk) · Public domain); New Berlin (Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0); Menomonee Falls (Shadowe · CC BY-SA 3.0); Oconomowoc (Iulus Ascanius · Public domain); Brookfield (Chris Favero from USA · CC BY-SA 2.0); Pewaukee (Awkwafaba · CC BY-SA 3.0).