Milwaukee vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Milwaukee	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2088	$3350
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5072	$7781
🏠 One person rent	$1201	$2159
🏘️ Family rent	$1937	$3818
🍽️ Food expenses	$594	$775
🚐 Transport expenses	$119	$171
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3838	$7152
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	81	100
😀 Quality of life	89	94
🏙️ Population	577K	690K

The cost of living in Milwaukee is 38% less expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 1786th and 74th ($2088 vs $3350) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1421st and 56th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Milwaukee compared to 2.1 months in Washington. Ranked 57th vs 6th best cities to live in the United States, and 224th vs 31st among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/milwaukee/washington.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Milwaukee vs Washington infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/milwaukee/washington" target="_blank">Milwaukee vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

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	$16.8	$22.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$61.1	$101
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.1	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.61	$8.68
☕ Cappuccino	$5.05	$6.1
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.93	$3.39
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1419	$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$918	$1850
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2352	$4205
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1521	$3379
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$120	$136
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$186	$206
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$63.5	$68.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.16%	6.12%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2602	$8429
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1709	$3565
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.99	$3.03
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$74.9	$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16	$18.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.9	$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.89	$1.17
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.91	$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.21	$6.22
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.55	$5.43
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.6	$18.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$15.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.8	$19.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.38	$5.8
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.48	$2.3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.64	$5.02
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.3	$5.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.19	$2.74
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.56	$3.62
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.57	$1.66
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.33	$3.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16	$17.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.82	$4.52
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.6	$13.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.28	$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.36	$4.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.52	$4.31
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.84	$2.57
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.4	$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.3	$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$165	$196
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.9	$35.5
👖 Brand Jeans	$49.1	$70
👟 Brand Sneakers	$86.5	$116
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1817	$1892
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24100	$24903

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	$1923
6.3 km or 3.9 mi	Wauwatosa	$1949
10 km or 6.4 mi	Greenfield	$1927
13 km or 8.3 mi	Brookfield	$1993
15 km or 9.4 mi	New Berlin	$1934
17 km or 11 mi	South Milwaukee	$2000
17 km or 11 mi	Menomonee Falls	$1979
17 km or 11 mi	Franklin	$1963
19 km or 12 mi	Oak Creek	$1993
19 km or 12 mi	Mequon	$1990
22 km or 14 mi	Muskego	$1930
23 km or 14 mi	Waukesha	$1746
27 km or 17 mi	Caledonia	$1996
37 km or 23 mi	Mount Pleasant	$2058
38 km or 24 mi	Racine	$2065
46 km or 28 mi	West Bend	$1946
53 km or 33 mi	Kenosha	$2039
57 km or 36 mi	Pleasant Prairie	$2097
64 km or 40 mi	Watertown	$1950
67 km or 42 mi	Zion	$2344
74 km or 46 mi	Fort Atkinson	$1771
76 km or 47 mi	Round Lake Beach	$2382
76 km or 47 mi	Gurnee	$2389
77 km or 48 mi	Waukegan	$2443
78 km or 49 mi	Grayslake	$2364
80 km or 50 mi	Sheboygan	$1825
81 km or 51 mi	North Chicago	$2407
84 km or 52 mi	McHenry	$2434
85 km or 53 mi	Libertyville	$2418
87 km or 54 mi	Mundelein	$2162
90 km or 56 mi	Fond du Lac	$1813
91 km or 57 mi	Woodstock	$2249
91 km or 57 mi	Vernon Hills	$2428
96 km or 60 mi	Janesville	$1796
97 km or 60 mi	Crystal Lake	$2555
97 km or 60 mi	Highland Park	$2418
98 km or 61 mi	Buffalo Grove	$2410
101 km or 63 mi	Lake in the Hills	$2559
102 km or 63 mi	Wheeling	$2453
103 km or 64 mi	Northbrook	$2400

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3031
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2572
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2913
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2769
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2223
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$3016
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2367
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2774
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2678
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2803
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2596
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2377
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2801
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2508
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2512
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2799
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2696
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2608
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3338
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2695
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2856
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2379
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2793
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2862
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2484
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2341
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2554
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2224
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2603
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2318
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2363
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1977
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$3012
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2787
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2694
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2275
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2037
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2252
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$2109
122 km or 76 mi	York	$2088