Milwaukee vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Milwaukee	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2078	$3306
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5083	$7823
🏠 One person rent	$1194	$2128
🏘️ Family rent	$1948	$3806
🍽️ Food expenses	$591	$764
🚐 Transport expenses	$118	$168
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3809	$6170
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	81	100
😀 Quality of life	89	93
🏙️ Population	577K	690K

The cost of living in Milwaukee is 37% less expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 1833rd and 92nd ($2078 vs $3306) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1456th and 62nd 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 70th vs 7th best cities to live in the United States, and 260th vs 52nd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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	$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$60.5	$102
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.91	$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.7	$8.25
☕ Cappuccino	$5.12	$6.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.01	$3.44
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1421	$2369
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$908	$1820
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2353	$4324
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1538	$3337
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$121	$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$185	$203
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$62.1	$67.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.44%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2254	$7337
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1645	$4181
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.01	$2.76
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$73.7	$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.86	$0.86
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.86	$1.15
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.87	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.24	$5.46
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.58	$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$15.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$19.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.4	$5.59
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$1.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.62	$5.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.34	$5.97
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.18	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.49	$3.76
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.57	$1.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.32	$3.57
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.2	$17.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.81	$4.53
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.5	$13.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$9.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.34	$4.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.57	$4.36
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.85	$2.54
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$44.7	$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.6	$16.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$166	$198
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.8	$35.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$48.1	$74.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$85.1	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1835	$2250
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24369	$24788

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	$1962
6.3 km or 3.9 mi	Wauwatosa	$1986
10 km or 6.4 mi	Greenfield	$1965
13 km or 8.3 mi	Brookfield	$1924
15 km or 9.4 mi	New Berlin	$1963
17 km or 11 mi	South Milwaukee	$2040
17 km or 11 mi	Menomonee Falls	$1997
17 km or 11 mi	Franklin	$1997
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Creek	$2028
19 km or 12 mi	Mequon	$2020
22 km or 14 mi	Muskego	$1966
23 km or 14 mi	Waukesha	$1812
27 km or 17 mi	Caledonia	$2037
37 km or 23 mi	Mount Pleasant	$2079
38 km or 24 mi	Racine	$2070
46 km or 28 mi	West Bend	$1971
53 km or 33 mi	Kenosha	$2034
57 km or 36 mi	Pleasant Prairie	$2092
64 km or 40 mi	Watertown	$1990
67 km or 42 mi	Zion	$2381
74 km or 46 mi	Fort Atkinson	$1814
76 km or 47 mi	Round Lake Beach	$2365
76 km or 47 mi	Gurnee	$2379
77 km or 48 mi	Waukegan	$2435
78 km or 49 mi	Grayslake	$2354
80 km or 50 mi	Sheboygan	$1746
81 km or 51 mi	North Chicago	$2403
84 km or 52 mi	McHenry	$2437
85 km or 53 mi	Libertyville	$2410
87 km or 54 mi	Mundelein	$2131
90 km or 56 mi	Fond du Lac	$1844
91 km or 57 mi	Woodstock	$2229
91 km or 57 mi	Vernon Hills	$2402
96 km or 60 mi	Janesville	$1784
97 km or 60 mi	Crystal Lake	$2504
97 km or 60 mi	Highland Park	$2398
98 km or 61 mi	Buffalo Grove	$2371
101 km or 63 mi	Lake in the Hills	$2519
102 km or 63 mi	Wheeling	$2434
103 km or 64 mi	Northbrook	$2415

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3030
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2581
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2877
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2763
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2252
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$2777
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2379
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2650
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2499
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2818
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2544
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2344
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2721
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2522
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2526
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2800
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2681
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2588
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3292
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2664
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2830
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2453
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2736
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2951
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2443
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2304
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2521
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2234
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2586
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2333
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2372
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1944
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$2985
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2755
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2667
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2257
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2024
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2399
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$2000
122 km or 76 mi	York	$2003