Detroit vs Milwaukee - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Detroit	Milwaukee
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2064	$2054
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4936	$4880
🏠 One person rent	$1212	$1211
🏘️ Family rent	$2122	$1862
🍽️ Food expenses	$605	$555
🚐 Transport expenses	$109	$118
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3270	$3539
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Good
✈️ Airport proximity	9 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	77	82
😀 Quality of life	86	88
🏙️ Population	639K	577K

The cost of living in Detroit is 0.5% more expensive than in Milwaukee. Cities ranked 1678th and 1702nd ($2064 vs $2054) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1488th and 1506th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Detroit compared to 1.7 months in Milwaukee. Ranked 83rd vs 55th best cities to live in the United States, and 315th vs 240th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Detroit vs Milwaukee infographic

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Prices in Detroit vs Milwaukee

Prices for goods and services in Detroit and Milwaukee are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Detroit	Milwaukee
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$17.3	$13.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$65.3	$54
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10	$9.27
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.59	$4.32
☕ Cappuccino	$4.88	$5.06
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.45	$3.05
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1182	$1311
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$960	$979
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2340	$2332
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1705	$1469
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$148	$104
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$231	$159
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$59.6	$61.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.48%	6.66%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1377	$1890
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1283	$1701
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.98	$1.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$65.1	$73.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$13.9	$16.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.9	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.86	$0.88
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.9	$3
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.79	$4.36
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.05	$3.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.2	$10.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$11.9	$12.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.6	$15.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.58	$4.7
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.21
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.32	$5.54
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.84	$4.2
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.29	$1.91
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.5	$2.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.38	$1.59
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.09	$2.5
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$13.6	$15.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.03	$2.65
🚬 Cigarette pack	$9.76	$10.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.93	$4.35
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.48	$3.54
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.74	$1.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$39.7	$50.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$12	$12.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$94.7	$163
💇 Haircut, simple	$18.6	$16.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$48.7	$42
👟 Brand Sneakers	$85.9	$77.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1288	$1813
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$16893	$24191

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Detroit

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.9 km or 1.2 mi	Windsor	$1694
7.4 km or 4.6 mi	Hamtramck	$2042
14 km or 8.6 mi	Dearborn	$2064
15 km or 9.1 mi	Lincoln Park	$1962
16 km or 9.8 mi	Allen Park	$2070
16 km or 10 mi	Ferndale	$2086
17 km or 10 mi	Wyandotte	$1786
17 km or 11 mi	Eastpointe	$2017
18 km or 11 mi	Madison Heights	$2102
18 km or 11 mi	Warren	$1957
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Park	$2071
19 km or 12 mi	Southgate	$1936
19 km or 12 mi	Royal Oak	$2093
20 km or 12 mi	Dearborn Heights	$2062
21 km or 13 mi	Roseville	$2022
21 km or 13 mi	Taylor	$2175
21 km or 13 mi	Southfield	$2083
22 km or 14 mi	St. Clair Shores	$2030
22 km or 14 mi	Inkster	$2087
24 km or 15 mi	Garden	$2032
26 km or 16 mi	Amherstburg	$1724
27 km or 17 mi	Birmingham	$2059
28 km or 17 mi	Sterling Heights	$2040
28 km or 17 mi	Livonia	$1940
29 km or 18 mi	Troy	$1963
29 km or 18 mi	Westland	$2065
30 km or 19 mi	Clinton Township	$2077
31 km or 19 mi	Romulus	$2081
32 km or 20 mi	Farmington Hills	$2390
37 km or 23 mi	Rochester Hills	$2019
39 km or 24 mi	Novi	$2288
40 km or 25 mi	Pontiac	$1837
42 km or 26 mi	Auburn Hills	$1959
54 km or 34 mi	Monroe	$1706
58 km or 36 mi	Ann Arbor	$2238
71 km or 44 mi	Chatham-Kent	$1778
86 km or 54 mi	Toledo	$1593
88 km or 54 mi	Burton	$1607
88 km or 54 mi	Port Huron	$1943
89 km or 55 mi	Sarnia	$1527

Cities near Milwaukee

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.6 km or 3.5 mi	West Allis	$2001
6.3 km or 3.9 mi	Wauwatosa	$1987
10 km or 6.4 mi	Greenfield	$1982
13 km or 8.3 mi	Brookfield	$2019
15 km or 9.4 mi	New Berlin	$1942
17 km or 11 mi	South Milwaukee	$2019
17 km or 11 mi	Menomonee Falls	$1986
17 km or 11 mi	Franklin	$1976
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Creek	$2001
19 km or 12 mi	Mequon	$1998
22 km or 14 mi	Muskego	$1932
23 km or 14 mi	Waukesha	$1760
27 km or 17 mi	Caledonia	$1991
37 km or 23 mi	Mount Pleasant	$2017
38 km or 24 mi	Racine	$2023
46 km or 28 mi	West Bend	$1963
53 km or 33 mi	Kenosha	$1968
57 km or 36 mi	Pleasant Prairie	$2017
64 km or 40 mi	Watertown	$1960
67 km or 42 mi	Zion	$2320
74 km or 46 mi	Fort Atkinson	$1847
76 km or 47 mi	Round Lake Beach	$2313
76 km or 47 mi	Gurnee	$2321
77 km or 48 mi	Waukegan	$2312
78 km or 49 mi	Grayslake	$2298
80 km or 50 mi	Sheboygan	$1817
81 km or 51 mi	North Chicago	$2332
84 km or 52 mi	McHenry	$2327
85 km or 53 mi	Libertyville	$2391
87 km or 54 mi	Mundelein	$2078
90 km or 56 mi	Fond du Lac	$1850
91 km or 57 mi	Woodstock	$2179
91 km or 57 mi	Vernon Hills	$2294
96 km or 60 mi	Janesville	$1789
97 km or 60 mi	Crystal Lake	$2484
97 km or 60 mi	Highland Park	$2345
98 km or 61 mi	Buffalo Grove	$2311
101 km or 63 mi	Lake in the Hills	$2461
102 km or 63 mi	Wheeling	$2371
103 km or 64 mi	Northbrook	$2378