Milwaukee vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Milwaukee	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2046	$3328
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5001	$7867
🏠 One person rent	$1179	$2171
🏘️ Family rent	$1923	$3805
🍽️ Food expenses	$577	$759
🚐 Transport expenses	$118	$156
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3707	$6208
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	82	100
😀 Quality of life	91	96
🏙️ Population	577K	690K

The cost of living in Milwaukee is 39% less expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 1864th and 73rd ($2046 vs $3328) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1525th and 58th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Milwaukee compared to 1.9 months in Washington. Ranked 55th vs 4th best cities to live in the United States, and 195th vs 26th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Milwaukee vs Washington infographic

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Prices in Milwaukee vs Washington

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

	Milwaukee	Washington
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.5	$21.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$61.2	$100
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.1	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.38	$8.68
☕ Cappuccino	$4.96	$6.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3	$3.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1315	$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$935	$1874
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2336	$4381
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1539	$3331
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$107	$127
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$163	$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$61.5	$70.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.41%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1953	$6387
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1705	$4905
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.99	$2.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$73.6	$98.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16.2	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.84	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.85	$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.09	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.75	$5.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.51	$4.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.5	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.8	$16.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.3	$19.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.15	$5.55
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.58	$4.89
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.09	$6.42
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.93	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.15	$3.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.54	$1.7
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.35	$3.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.6	$16.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.67	$4.27
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.3	$13.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.28	$9.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.36	$4.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.55	$4.34
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.86	$2.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$44.5	$108
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.4	$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$165	$196
💇 Haircut, simple	$17	$35
👖 Brand Jeans	$41.6	$72.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$79.6	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1808	$2676
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$23971	$24065

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Milwaukee

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.6 km or 3.5 mi	West Allis	$1915
6.3 km or 3.9 mi	Wauwatosa	$1973
10 km or 6.4 mi	Greenfield	$1915
13 km or 8.3 mi	Brookfield	$1915
15 km or 9.4 mi	New Berlin	$1904
17 km or 11 mi	South Milwaukee	$1973
17 km or 11 mi	Menomonee Falls	$1943
17 km or 11 mi	Franklin	$1948
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Creek	$1966
19 km or 12 mi	Mequon	$1964
22 km or 14 mi	Muskego	$1919
23 km or 14 mi	Waukesha	$1785
27 km or 17 mi	Caledonia	$1973
37 km or 23 mi	Mount Pleasant	$2039
38 km or 24 mi	Racine	$2032
46 km or 28 mi	West Bend	$1941
53 km or 33 mi	Kenosha	$2030
57 km or 36 mi	Pleasant Prairie	$2089
64 km or 40 mi	Watertown	$1957
67 km or 42 mi	Zion	$2381
74 km or 46 mi	Fort Atkinson	$1826
76 km or 47 mi	Round Lake Beach	$2355
76 km or 47 mi	Gurnee	$2368
77 km or 48 mi	Waukegan	$2375
78 km or 49 mi	Grayslake	$2340
80 km or 50 mi	Sheboygan	$1763
81 km or 51 mi	North Chicago	$2368
84 km or 52 mi	McHenry	$2394
85 km or 53 mi	Libertyville	$2434
87 km or 54 mi	Mundelein	$2119
90 km or 56 mi	Fond du Lac	$1849
91 km or 57 mi	Woodstock	$2220
91 km or 57 mi	Vernon Hills	$2373
96 km or 60 mi	Janesville	$1789
97 km or 60 mi	Crystal Lake	$2528
97 km or 60 mi	Highland Park	$2392
98 km or 61 mi	Buffalo Grove	$2412
101 km or 63 mi	Lake in the Hills	$2508
102 km or 63 mi	Wheeling	$2426
103 km or 64 mi	Northbrook	$2399

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3054
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2576
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2919
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2710
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2287
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$2563
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2355
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2482
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2612
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2791
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2495
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2338
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2697
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2509
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2522
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2773
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2582
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2506
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3275
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2601
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2788
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2693
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2755
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2940
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2450
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2288
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2494
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2323
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2581
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2339
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2347
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1845
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$3069
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2824
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2699
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2255
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2066
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2400
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$1935
122 km or 76 mi	York	$1949