Is Wisconsin a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#9

9th out of 50 states overall.

Better than most states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#28

28th cheapest state, about 1% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $74,100 here.

How we measure cost ›

Wisconsin ranks 9th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 28th for affordability. It does best on education, safety, and healthcare, and struggles most with cost, air quality, and climate. A typical household earns about $72,100 a year, and the cost of living runs about 1% below average.

Why Wisconsin ranks #9 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Wisconsin scores on each, best to worst.

Education
#8 of 50
Safety
#15 of 50
Healthcare
#16 of 50
Green space
#18 of 50
Walkability
#20 of 50
Dog friendly
#20 of 50
Economy
#24 of 50
Cost of living
#28 of 50
Air quality
#28 of 50
Climate
#32 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Wisconsin at a glance

Typical household income

$72,100

23rd highest

Typical home price

$312,000

30th highest

Overall cost of living

1% below average

28th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 13%

9th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 22 min

one way

Taxes in Wisconsin

See your real Wisconsin take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Wisconsin taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.