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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Miami to Milwaukee

Miami, FL vs Milwaukee, WI

Simple answer

You'd likely save $1,301 a month in Milwaukee.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $1,301: Miami is higher at $2,564 versus $1,263.

Florida has no tax on wages. Wisconsin taxes wages at rates up to 7.65%. Combined sales tax differs by 1.3 percentage points, higher in Florida. The effective property tax gap is 0.49 percentage points, higher in Wisconsin.

After a move from Florida to Wisconsin, these benefit results change for a family of four at $40,000 and a single adult at $18,000: Medicaid and CHIP.

A $75,000 salary in Miami lines up with about $63,688 in Milwaukee on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Miami

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,564
HUD area
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$2,083
All-items price parity
114.2
Goods price parity
103.6
Utilities price parity
97.2
Mean commute
30.2 min
Median household income
$80,625

Milwaukee

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,263
HUD area
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI MSA
Census median gross rent
$1,177
All-items price parity
96.9
Goods price parity
93.8
Utilities price parity
91.6
Mean commute
23.2 min
Median household income
$77,919

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$63,688

Salary in Milwaukee that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$64,966

Gross salary in Milwaukee whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$36,944

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxFloridaWisconsin
State income tax on wagesNo wage taxup to 7.65%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20267.0%5.7%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median0.75%1.25%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $3,016 a year in Florida and $4,995 in Wisconsin. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Wisconsin

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Florida and once in Wisconsin. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • WIC

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • School meals

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    MiamiMaybe

    MilwaukeeMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    MiamiLikely eligible

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

  • SSI

    MiamiUnlikely

    MilwaukeeUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Wisconsin · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Miami

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Miami.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.