Milwaukee vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Milwaukee	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2078	$3784
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5083	$9038
🏠 One person rent	$1194	$2349
🏘️ Family rent	$1948	$4207
🍽️ Food expenses	$591	$934
🚐 Transport expenses	$118	$216
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3809	$6864
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	81	82
😀 Quality of life	89	96
🏙️ Population	577K	449K

The cost of living in Milwaukee is 45% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 1833rd and 13th ($2078 vs $3784) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1456th and 3rd in the United States and Switzerland, respectively. Check the United States vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Milwaukee compared to 1.8 months in Zurich. Milwaukee ranked 70th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 2nd in Switzerland, while ranked 260th and 9th among 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 Zurich

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

	Milwaukee	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.5	$29.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$60.5	$93.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.91	$19.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.7	$9.85
☕ Cappuccino	$5.12	$7.57
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.01	$5.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1421	$2745
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$908	$1974
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2353	$5005
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1538	$3621
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$121	$165
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$185	$254
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$62.1	$55.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.44%	2.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2254	$20786
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1645	$8412
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.01	$4.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$73.7	$110
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$16	$38.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.86	$2.28
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.86	$2.3
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.87	$3.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.24	$3.67
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.58	$9.26
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.8	$25.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$24.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$16.7	$45.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.4	$4.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.38	$2.8
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.62	$3.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.34	$5.15
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.18	$2.99
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.49	$2.34
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.57	$1.12
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.32	$3.73
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.2	$18.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.81	$2.77
🚬 Cigarette pack	$10.5	$12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$22.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.34	$5.48
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.57	$5.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.85	$3.96
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$44.7	$88
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.6	$24.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$166	$144
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.8	$56.5
👖 Brand Jeans	$48.1	$146
👟 Brand Sneakers	$85.1	$157
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1835	$2506
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24369	$24322

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 Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3494
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3353
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3367
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3457
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3345
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3281
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3328
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3414
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3305
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3310
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3360
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3556
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$4151
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3318
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2731
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2740
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1711
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2546
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3367
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2721
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3380
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3331
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1740
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1794
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$3046
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1872
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1726
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$2978
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1837
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1550
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3677
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1604
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1721
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1731
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$3080
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1393
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1498
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$1966
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2543
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3171