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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Milwaukee to Minneapolis

Milwaukee, WI vs Minneapolis, MN

Simple answer

You'd likely save $471 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 $471: Minneapolis is higher at $1,734 versus $1,263.

Wisconsin taxes wages at rates up to 7.65%. Minnesota taxes wages at rates up to 9.85%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.4 percentage points, higher in Minnesota. The effective property tax gap is 0.23 percentage points, higher in Wisconsin.

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

A $75,000 salary in Milwaukee lines up with about $81,101 in Minneapolis on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

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

Minneapolis

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,734
HUD area
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,444
All-items price parity
104.8
Goods price parity
103.1
Utilities price parity
93.5
Mean commute
24.1 min
Median household income
$97,928

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

$81,101

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

After state and federal tax

$84,097

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

Rent only

$102,969

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

TaxWisconsinMinnesota
State income tax on wagesup to 7.65%up to 9.85%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20265.7%8.1%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.25%1.02%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,995 a year in Wisconsin and $4,064 in Minnesota. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Minnesota

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

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • WIC

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • School meals

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    MilwaukeeMaybe

    MinneapolisMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    MilwaukeeLikely eligible

    MinneapolisLikely eligible

  • SSI

    MilwaukeeUnlikely

    MinneapolisUnlikely

Marketplace premium tax credits changes. In Milwaukee the result is “Likely inside the 2026 subsidy range.” In Minneapolis it is “Unlikely — Medicaid is the closer program.” Minnesota expanded Medicaid, and this income is in the Medicaid range. Marketplace subsidies are usually not the program in that case.

Medicaid guide for Minnesota · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Milwaukee

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

Nearby metros

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