Midwest · Updated October 2026
Wisconsin in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,251/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
19.4%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
7.65%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.25%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
97.5
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
11th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Wisconsin stands out: the 3rd lowest natural-disaster risk and the 8th smallest rent-to-income bite among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 9th highest top income-tax rate.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 8.6% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 14th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Milwaukee (Milwaukee Mitchell Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 34°F | 20°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 55°F | 38°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 80°F | 62°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 61°F | 45°F |
$1,263/mo two-bedroom · $1,060 one-bedroom (Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA)
Milwaukee is a Lake Michigan city with a serious brewing heritage, excellent festivals, Polish and German roots and very cheap housing. Winters are harsh, and the metro is among the most racially segregated in the country.
$1,565/mo two-bedroom · $1,375 one-bedroom (Madison, WI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Madison is a lake-ringed capital and university city — progressive, highly educated, with a famous farmers' market and strong biotech employment. Expensive for Wisconsin, cold, and consistently ranked highly for quality of life.
$1,287/mo two-bedroom · $1,028 one-bedroom (Green Bay, WI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Green Bay is a small city defined by the Packers, paper mills and a working port. Extremely affordable, cold and snowy, with a tight-knit community feel.
$1,256/mo two-bedroom · $986 one-bedroom (Appleton, WI MSA)
Appleton is the centre of the Fox Cities in northeast Wisconsin, with Lawrence University and paper and manufacturing employers. Affordable, safe and family-oriented, with long winters.
$1,259/mo two-bedroom · $1,017 one-bedroom (Eau Claire, WI MSA)
Eau Claire is a western Wisconsin college town with a growing music and arts scene, rivers through the middle and low housing costs. Cold winters, and a quiet, friendly pace.
$1,268/mo two-bedroom · $969 one-bedroom (Door County, WI)
Sturgeon Bay is the gateway to Door County, a peninsula of orchards, lighthouses and shoreline. Beautiful and busy in summer, very quiet and cold in winter, with a seasonal economy.
$1,441/mo two-bedroom · $1,144 one-bedroom (Kenosha, WI MSA)
Kenosha is a Lake Michigan city between Milwaukee and Chicago, with a lakefront, a streetcar and Metra trains into Chicago. Cheaper than Illinois, with a growing logistics sector.
$1,343/mo two-bedroom · $1,027 one-bedroom (La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN HUD Metro FMR Area)
La Crosse is a Mississippi River city with bluffs, a university and a strong healthcare sector. Scenic, affordable and outdoorsy, with cold winters.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Wisconsin’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 7.65% (Wisconsin tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 8.6% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,251 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,020, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $508 less than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 97.5 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 81.7 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 19.4% of the state’s median household income of $77,488.
Wisconsin recorded 278.5 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 21st lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are severe winter storms. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Wisconsin’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 11th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Appleton and Eau Claire. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.