Milwaukee

Wauwatosa

Milwaukee County48,529 residentsWauwatosa School District
74
B
Suburbgrade score

2nd of 30 Milwaukee suburbs. Strong on commute & transport and amenities, held back by housing & affordability.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Wauwatosa yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 74 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

Village of Wauwatosa and the Menomonee River.The original uploader was Schwnj at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.5
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 Wauwatosa is like to live in, by category

Bars show Wauwatosa against Milwaukee. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 59/100
C
Median home value$339,000
Milwaukee $306,400
Median rent$1,438/mo
Milwaukee $1,139/mo
Cost-burdened households26%
Milwaukee 31%

Schools

18% of the score · 75/100
B
Within-state proficiency75th pct
Milwaukee median 81st pct
Student–teacher ratio13.5
Milwaukee median 14.6
Graduation rate88%
Milwaukee median 97%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 63/100
C+
Housing cost index117
Milwaukee 100
Eff. tax rate1.64%
Milwaukee 1.38%
Local sales tax5.72%
Milwaukee median 5.72%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 91/100
A
Mean commute19.5 min
Milwaukee 22.7 min
Under 30 minutes84%
Milwaukee 71%
Transit stops / sq mi19
Milwaukee median 0.1 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 86/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés104
Milwaukee median 34 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Milwaukee median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks73
Milwaukee median 47 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 77/100
B
Median household income$101,138
Milwaukee $78,218
Unemployment2.1%
Milwaukee 3.8%
Professional occupations61%
Milwaukee 44%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
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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.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for Wauwatosa yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than Wauwatosa on housing & affordability

Wauwatosa's weakest grade is C. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.

SuburbHousingMedian home valueOwnership rateOverall
Mequon10 mi from WauwatosaA−$502k86% 70 B− Richfield16 mi from WauwatosaB+$503k97% 65 C+ Brookfield4 mi from WauwatosaB+$444k83% 72 B− Pewaukee11 mi from WauwatosaB$447k83% 71 B− Whitefish Bay8 mi from WauwatosaB$534k83% 79 B+ Lisbon13 mi from WauwatosaB$415k94% 68 B−
Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Wauwatosa

Is Wauwatosa, WI a good place to live?

Wauwatosa scores 74 out of 100, 2nd of 30 Milwaukee suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Wauwatosa expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $339,000, 11% above the Milwaukee median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.64%. $1,438/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Wauwatosa?

Schools grade B. The districts serving Wauwatosa sit at the 75th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 88% graduation rate and a 13.5 student–teacher ratio. Wauwatosa is served by Wauwatosa School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Wauwatosa?

The mean commute is 19.5 min, with 84% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 22% working from home. Transit density is 19 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Wauwatosa?

Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 104 restaurants and cafés and 73 parks, which grades A− on amenities.

Are the homes in Wauwatosa old or new?

The median home in Wauwatosa was built in 1954 — 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. 58% 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.