Milwaukee, WI

The affordability dashboard for Milwaukee, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 29 ZIP codes covering 808,042 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (52/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $62,404, median home value of $215,817, median rent of $1,096 per month, and 32.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,338 per month (studio $1,027, 1BR $1,119, 3BR $1,648, 4BR $1,784). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,236 per year, consuming 24% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.6% and poverty 19.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.