The 10 Cheapest Milwaukee, WI Neighborhoods To Live In For 2024


The cheapest Milwaukee neighborhoods are Rufus King and Bradley Estates for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: January 27, 2024
Worst Neighborhoods In Milwaukee
Source: Wikipedia User Dori | GFDL

Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.

I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.

And while every neighbhorhood in Milwaukee might be more expensive than living in rural Wisconsin, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.

What exactly are those Milwaukee neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Milwaukee are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.

The Cheapest Neighborhoods In Milwaukee For 2024

  1. Rufus King
  2. Bradley Estates
  3. Golden Valley
  4. Brynwood
  5. Menomonee River Hills East
  6. Triangle
  7. Menomonee River Hills
  8. Long View
  9. Franklin Heights
  10. Land Bank

What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Milwaukee for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Rufus King looks to be the cheapest Milwaukee neighborhood to live in.

At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Milwaukee. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Milwaukee that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

For more Wisconsin reading, check out:

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Milwaukee For 2024

1. Rufus King

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,079
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (9th cheapest)
More on Rufus King: Data | Real Estate

2. Bradley Estates

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 1,898
Cost Of Living Index: 81 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 0.8 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (47th cheapest)
More on Bradley Estates: Data | Real Estate

3. Golden Valley

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 3,008
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (64th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (35th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.012 (5th cheapest)
More on Golden Valley: Data | Real Estate

4. Brynwood

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,424
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.0 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (94th cheapest)
More on Brynwood: Data | Real Estate

5. Menomonee River Hills East

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 4,109
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (54th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.5 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (56th cheapest)
More on Menomonee River Hills East: Data | Real Estate

6. Triangle

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 515
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (54th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.1 (29th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.015 (36th cheapest)
More on Triangle: Data | Real Estate

7. Menomonee River Hills

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 8,614
Cost Of Living Index: 84 (54th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 2.0 (25th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (45th cheapest)
More on Menomonee River Hills: Data | Real Estate

8. Long View

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,001
Cost Of Living Index: 86 (72nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.9 (19th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (33rd cheapest)
More on Long View: Data | Real Estate

9. Franklin Heights

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,492
Cost Of Living Index: 80 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.3 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.023 (125th cheapest)
More on Franklin Heights: Data | Real Estate

10. Land Bank

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,869
Cost Of Living Index: 85 (64th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 1.8 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (73rd cheapest)
More on Land Bank: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Milwaukee Hoods In 2024

To rank the cheapest places to live in Milwaukee, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.

Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • Overall Cost Of Living
  • Rent To Income Ratio
  • Median Home Value To Income Ratio

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 182 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Milwaukee.” We’re lookin’ at you, Rufus King.

We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Milwaukee. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.

Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Milwaukee

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Milwaukee where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.

The most affordable neighborhoods in Milwaukee are Rufus King, Bradley Estates, Golden Valley, Brynwood, Menomonee River Hills East, Triangle, Menomonee River Hills, Long View, Franklin Heights, and Land Bank.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Milwaukee aren’t all cheap. Ridgeview takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Milwaukee.

The most expensive neighborhoods in Milwaukee are Ridgeview, Northridge, Cambridge Heights, Riverside Park, and Yankee Hill.

We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.

For more Wisconsin reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Milwaukee For 2024

Rank Neighborhood Cost Of Living Index
1 Rufus King 81
2 Bradley Estates 81
3 Golden Valley 85
4 Brynwood 80
5 Menomonee River Hills East 84
6 Triangle 84
7 Menomonee River Hills 84
8 Long View 86
9 Franklin Heights 80
10 Land Bank 85
11 Fairview 90
12 Havenwoods 84
13 Hawley Farms 89
14 Mount Mary 90
15 Garden Homes 78
16 Maitland Park 92
17 Layton Park 87
18 Burnham Park 85
19 Muskego Way 82
20 Green Moor 90
21 Graceland 85
22 Historic Mitchell Street 80
23 Servite Woods 83
24 North Division 80
25 Timmerman Airport 87
26 Honey Creek Manor 89
27 Cooper Park 91
28 Lincoln Park 84
29 Nash Park 87
30 Silver City 85
31 Arlington Heights 80
32 Kops Park 87
33 Wahl Park 84
34 Granville Woods 83
35 Whispering Hills 83
36 New Coeln 90
37 Lyons Park 90
38 Fairfield 82
39 Dineen Park 85
40 Hawthorne Glen 91
41 Mcgovern Park 83
42 Wick Field 91
43 Honey Creek Parkway 91
44 Old North Milwaukee 82
45 Metcalfe Park 81
46 Fair Park 89
47 Southgate 86
48 Silver Spring 83
49 Freedom Village 83
50 Town Of Lake 92
51 Williamsburg 83
52 Northridge Lakes 77
53 White Manor 90
54 Mill Valley 95
55 Timmerman West 88
56 Grasslyn Manor 86
57 Tippecanoe 91
58 Saveland Park 90
59 Wedgewood 94
60 Bluemound Heights 88
61 Vogel Park 86
62 Morgandale 89
63 Silver Swan 85
64 Saint Amelian’s 86
65 Thurston Woods 84
66 Lindsay Park 87
67 Lincoln Village 83
68 Enderis Park 90
69 Columbus Park 87
70 River Bend 91
71 Capitol Heights 86
72 Park West 80
73 Red Oak Heights 95
74 National Park 84
75 Holler Park 89
76 Walker’s Point 83
77 Washington Park 82
78 Valhalla 81
79 Borchert Field 80
80 Clayton Crest 94
81 Harder’s Oaks 94
82 Polonia 87
83 Mitchell Field 93
84 The Valley-Pigsville 92
85 Cannon Park 90
86 Lincoln Creek 85
87 Melody View 93
88 Pollber Heights 93
89 Goldman Park 88
90 Arlington Gardens 88
91 Walnut Hill 81
92 Morgan Heights 95
93 Sherman Park 83
94 Alcott Park 95
95 Washington Heights 93
96 Hampton Heights 84
97 Forest Home Hills 85
98 Little Menomonee Parkway 89
99 Riverton Heights 94
100 Jackson Park 91
101 Johnson’s Woods 88
102 Story Hill 89
103 Wyrick Park 89
104 Sunset Heights 87
105 Triangle North 82
106 Baran Park 83
107 Bay View 92
108 Granville Station 87
109 Uptown 87
110 Midtown 81
111 Gra-Ram 89
112 Menomonee River Parkway 87
113 Miller Valley 90
114 Harambee 80
115 Pheasant Run 90
116 Clarke Square 82
117 Mitchell West 87
118 Merrill Park 80
119 North Meadows 91
120 Lenox Heights 88
121 Zoo 90
122 Florist Highlands 93
123 Parkway Hills 87
124 Downer Woods 116
125 Menomonee River Valley 82
126 Roosevelt Grove 83
127 King Park 77
128 Halyard Park 81
129 Brown Deer Park 89
130 Historic Third Ward 89
131 Tripoli Park 89
132 Root Creek 90
133 Highwood Estates 90
134 Calumet Farms 103
135 Park Place 103
136 Fernwood 96
137 Town And Country Manor 87
138 Saint Joseph 87
139 Mitchell Park 82
140 Clock Tower Acres 80
141 Southpoint 89
142 Jones’ Island 91
143 Valley Forge 96
144 Castle Manor 88
145 Hillside 75
146 Avenues West 77
147 Grover Heights 82
148 Veterans Affairs 82
149 Park View 81
150 Riverwest 91
151 Grantosa 86
152 Haymarket 80
153 Harbor View 94
154 Park Knoll 94
155 Martin Drive 84
156 West View 90
157 Cold Spring Park 83
158 Brewer’s Hill 91
159 Northpoint 105
160 Schlitz Park 103
161 Wilson Park 87
162 Heritage Heights 94
163 Upper East Side 110
164 Concordia 83
165 Kilbourn Town 85
166 North Granville 90
167 Rolling Green 93
168 Woodland Court 93
169 Maple Tree 94
170 Juneau Town 103
171 Estabrook Park 88
172 Lower East Side 102
173 Dretzka Park 94
174 Murray Hill 102
175 Mount Olivet 91
176 Alverno 92
177 Euclid Park 94
178 Yankee Hill 107
179 Riverside Park 102
180 Cambridge Heights 96
181 Northridge 96
182 Ridgeview 96
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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