The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin In 2024


The most affordable places to live in Wisconsin for 2024 are Merrill, Wisconsin Rapids, and Shawano according to Saturday Night Science.

People often overlook the cheapest places to live in Wisconsin, as they tend to focus on its cheese-loving residents or big cheese cities like Milwaukee.

However, the real deal lies within Wisconsin’s affordable yet excellent neighborhoods.

We used Saturday Night Science and Census data to determine the most affordable places to live in Wisconsin. We compared the cost of living, real estate prices, and incomes for all 141 cities in Wisconsin over 5,000 people.

The residents of these Badger State cities won’t have to reduce their grocery budget by hunting and ice fishing or earn extra cash by plowing snow.


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


The 10 most affordable places to live in Wisconsin

  1. Merrill
  2. Wisconsin Rapids
  3. Shawano
  4. Rhinelander
  5. Antigo
  6. Wausau
  7. Manitowoc
  8. Marinette
  9. Beloit
  10. Menasha

Most Affordable Cities In Wisconsin Map

What’s the cheapest place to live in Wisconsin? According to the most recent data, the cheapest place in Wisconsin is Merrill.

So, if you care about home values, cost of living, and gold star quality of life, look at the list below to see where your Wisconsin dollar will let you live like a Milwaukee Buck on a dairy farmer’s salary.

Check out some more reading about Wisconsin and the cheapest places in the country:

The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin For 2024

Merrill, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 9,266
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 79
Median Income: $48,378
Median Home Price: $180,411
Median Rent: $703

If you want to live in the cheapest place in America’s Dairyland, look no further than Merrill. Merrill is known as the “City of Parks, so you’ll never be left wondering how to entertain yourself free of charge. Merrill boasts the ninth cheapest homes in the state, and the absolute lowest you’ll see on this list, with a median price of $180,411. Even more important, though, is that Merrill’s median income is $48,378, meaning there’s nowhere in Wisconsin where you’ll spend less of your salary on your home.

Merrill is located in north-central Wisconsin.

More on Merrill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,783
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 80
Median Income: $51,186
Median Home Price: $187,866
Median Rent: $868

Wisconsin Rapids, located in Wood County in the center of Wisconsin, is the second lowest cost city in the state. The city has the 39th best home price to income in the Badger State.

The cost of living index at 80 is 14 points below the state average in Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Zoo and Nepco Lake County Park offer something cheap to do with the family.

More on Wisconsin Rapids: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Shawano, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 9,212
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $54,848
Median Home Price: $203,619
Median Rent: $737

Located about 45 minutes northwest of Green Bay, Shawano ranks as the third most affordable city in Wisconsin. Shawano has the second cheapest homes on this list and the 19th cheapest homes in the state. Residents earn a median income of $54,848 and pay a median price of $203,619 for homes. On the other hand, Shawano is the least economical place to rent on this list, notwithstanding the fact that you can get an apartment for under $600/month here. Shawano is home to Twig’s Beverage, who make some of the finest craft soda in the Midwest.

More on Shawano: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Rhinelander, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 8,236
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $47,730
Median Home Price: $225,786
Median Rent: $867

Rhinelander, in northern Wisconsin west of Green Bay, has the 26th lowest home prices and a solid 122nd best home-price-to-income ratio. The city has the fourth lowest overall cost of living.

Rhinelander has cheap things to do, including Hodag Park and the Hodag Country Festival. It’s also right next to Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

More on Rhinelander: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Review Of Rhinelander by HomeSnacks User

I’ve lived in Rhinelander all my life and loved every second of it. If you want to rank cities based on crime and unemployment then have it, but those aren’t the deciding factors for whether it’s a terrible place to live. If you don’t believe me, ask the journal sentinel what they think of Rhinelander: http:m.jsonline.comwisconsin-travel/268294472.htm-

Antigo, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,075
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 81
Median Income: $45,581
Median Home Price: $146,364
Median Rent: $722

Next on the list is another town northwest of Green Bay. Antigo, in Langlade County, ranks as the fifth cheapest city in Wisconsin. According to Zillow, the average home price is the lowest in the state at $146,364.

The Springbrook Trail and Antigo Lake Park are cheap things to do in town. And you save so much on housing that you’ll have more to spend for a long weekend in Minneapolis or Milwaukee.

More on Antigo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Wausau, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 39,906
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 82
Median Income: $59,259
Median Home Price: $203,400
Median Rent: $898

What do you say we take a stop in Wausau? Wausau is the sixth cheapest city in the Badger State. It’s easy to save money when home prices are $203,400 and the overall cost of living sits at 82, 12.8% lower than the Wisconsin average.

With 39,906 people, there’s more to do in Wausau. You can take in the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum or spend the afternoon at the Monk Botanical Gardens.

More on Wausau: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Manitowoc, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder | GFDL 1.2
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 34,500
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 82
Median Income: $60,040
Median Home Price: $199,459
Median Rent: $743

Manitowoc offers its residents an excellent quality of life with a low cost of living and a stable economy. The city’s income-to-rent ratio is also favorable. This combination makes it easier for residents to pay rent without sacrificing too much of their income. Manitowoc’s unemployment rate is only 2.8%, making it one of Wisconsin’s most stable places to find work.

Manitowoc’s median home value is $199,459, well below the national average. The median rent in Manitowoc is $743, and the overall cost of living is 16% lower than the national average, making it an affordable place to call home.

More on Manitowoc: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Marinette, WI

Source: Wikipedia User User Royalbroil on en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 11,065
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 83
Median Income: $54,969
Median Home Price: $166,215
Median Rent: $751

Marinette, located on the south bank of the Menominee River, is one of the most affordable places to live in Wisconsin. With a median home value of $166,215 and a median rent of $751, Marinette offers lower living costs than the national average.

Apart from being an affordable place to live, Marinette is also a great place to call home. With its beautiful location near Green Bay and Lake Michigan, residents can enjoy various outdoor activities such as fishing, boating, and hiking. The city also has a rich history as a significant player in the lumbering industry during the late 19th century, as evidenced by its preserved park on Stephenson Island.

More on Marinette: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Beloit, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Jason Dean | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 36,642
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 84
Median Income: $57,168
Median Home Price: $165,823
Median Rent: $957

We’re going to south Wisconsin now to visit Beloit, the ninth cheapest place in the state. It’s 1.5 hours south of Milwaukee on the Illinois border.

The overall cost of living index of 84 includes low index values for utilities, services, and healthcare. The Blackhawk Farms Raceway and Carl and Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve are nearby for affordable fun.

More on Beloit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Menasha, WI

Source: Wikipedia User Royalbroil | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 18,125
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 84
Median Income: $62,514
Median Home Price: $292,014
Median Rent: $820

In Calumet County, you’ll find the tenth cheapest city in the state – Menasha. It just made it onto the list with a 84 overall cost of living index 10 points lower than the state average.

The home price to income ratio of 4.67 places 118th best statewide. Home to Barlow Planetarium, Menasha is a magnet for those looking for a good deal in Wisconsin.

More on Menasha: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Cheapest places to live in Wisconsin FAQs

The county in Wisconsin with the lowest cost of living is Dane County. The average living wage in Dane County is $103,834 according to MIT data. Dane County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Wisconsin as a whole. Childcare costs $25,655 a year in Dane County for two children compared to the Wisconsin average of $19,401. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $14,532 per year in Dane County compared to $10,946 on average in Wisconsin.

The cost of living in Wisconsin is 3.2% higher than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Wisconsin is $92,622 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Wisconsin household is $63,293.

The cheapest housing market in Wisconsin is Antigo. The average home value in Antigo is $69,400, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Wisconsin is $189,200, almost 2.7 times higher than Antigo.

Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Badger State for 2024

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin
Determining affordability for places in Wisconsin boils down to how much it costs to live here.

You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.

With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2018-2022 for Wisconsin using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:

  • Housing
  • Transportation
  • Services
  • Groceries
  • Healthcare
  • Utilities

These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.

We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Wisconsin to figure out which is the least expensive.

The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 141 places in Wisconsin that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.

The place in Wisconsin with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Merrill.

We updated this article for 2024. This report reflects our tenth time ranking the cheapest places to live in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Affordabilility Summary

This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Wisconsin for 2024, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Wisconsin.

The cheapest cities in Wisconsin are Merrill, Wisconsin Rapids, Shawano, Rhinelander, Antigo, Wausau, Manitowoc, Marinette, Beloit, and Menasha.

Here’s a look at the most expensive cities in Wisconsin according to the data:

  1. Mequon
  2. Delafield
  3. Whitefish Bay

For more Wisconsin reading, check out:

Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin

Rank City Population Cost Of Living Index Median Income Home Prices Rent
1 Merrill 9,266 79 $48,378 $180,411 $703
2 Wisconsin Rapids 18,783 80 $51,186 $187,866 $868
3 Shawano 9,212 81 $54,848 $203,619 $737
4 Rhinelander 8,236 81 $47,730 $225,786 $867
5 Antigo 8,075 81 $45,581 $146,364 $722
6 Wausau 39,906 82 $59,259 $203,400 $898
7 Manitowoc 34,500 82 $60,040 $199,459 $743
8 Marinette 11,065 83 $54,969 $166,215 $751
9 Beloit 36,642 84 $57,168 $165,823 $957
10 Menasha 18,125 84 $62,514 $292,014 $820
11 Two Rivers 11,252 84 $56,236 $256,600 $744
12 Tomah 9,527 84 $55,203 $226,985 $928
13 New London 7,342 84 $53,580 $190,917 $858
14 Green Bay 106,846 85 $59,174 $233,414 $864
15 Sparta 9,943 85 $55,308 $239,695 $902
16 Stevens Point 25,549 86 $53,611 $235,226 $855
17 Marshfield 18,795 86 $58,474 $223,593 $799
18 Little Chute 11,798 87 $69,102 $250,340 $1,042
19 Waupaca 6,294 87 $56,076 $269,090 $747
20 Appleton 75,133 88 $75,469 $256,611 $913
21 Sheboygan 49,805 88 $59,861 $210,593 $853
22 Sturgeon Bay 9,620 88 $55,791 $327,051 $952
23 Racine 77,453 89 $52,766 $174,516 $967
24 Janesville 65,669 89 $68,610 $248,170 $993
25 Ashwaubenon 16,939 89 $67,748 $289,524 $895
26 Waupun 11,109 89 $66,033 $216,145 $797
27 Berlin 5,537 89 $57,656 $162,521 $783
28 Prairie du Chien 5,502 89 $52,400 $180,549 $806
29 Kaukauna 17,111 90 $74,575 $258,413 $973
30 Weston 15,698 90 $71,466 $250,370 $920
31 Allouez 14,089 90 $84,198 $274,547 $959
32 Plymouth 8,907 90 $65,893 $279,607 $848
33 Ashland 7,903 90 $47,239 $179,999 $685
34 Ripon 7,823 90 $56,563 $183,554 $715
35 Rothschild 5,537 90 $84,963 $214,618 $827
36 North Fond du Lac 5,372 90 $63,342 $167,126 $1,024
37 Richland Center 5,058 90 $54,295 $158,102 $669
38 Milwaukee 573,299 91 $49,733 $191,843 $982
39 Oshkosh 66,373 91 $59,186 $219,076 $860
40 West Allis 59,907 91 $64,888 $236,211 $954
41 Fond du Lac 44,527 91 $58,675 $198,830 $868
42 Chippewa Falls 14,623 91 $58,558 $275,687 $895
43 Elkhorn 10,253 91 $72,958 $310,154 $951
44 Rice Lake 8,990 91 $44,494 $250,957 $816
45 Kimberly 7,331 91 $65,061 $243,898 $848
46 Mayville 5,176 91 $62,645 $221,037 $759
47 Cudahy 18,087 92 $66,592 $248,599 $949
48 Beaver Dam 16,652 92 $65,802 $239,342 $936
49 Plover 13,549 92 $76,120 $296,269 $985
50 Reedsburg 10,019 92 $66,026 $265,464 $875
51 St. Francis 9,288 92 $51,749 $250,548 $882
52 Sturtevant 6,823 92 $83,816 $245,292 $1,071
53 Kenosha 99,493 93 $64,963 $230,818 $1,079
54 Monroe 10,622 93 $62,191 $237,656 $807
55 Portage 10,450 93 $59,619 $244,455 $930
56 Delavan 8,519 93 $69,238 $286,756 $987
57 Neenah 27,309 94 $71,280 $295,098 $904
58 Baraboo 12,541 94 $66,592 $246,414 $909
59 Platteville 11,543 94 $46,554 $227,451 $872
60 New Richmond 10,158 94 $78,077 $345,613 $959
61 Kronenwetter 8,335 94 $107,727 $288,694 $1,023
62 Sheboygan Falls 8,163 94 $66,416 $273,284 $814
63 La Crosse 52,043 95 $51,836 $237,653 $941
64 West Bend 31,682 95 $71,904 $300,826 $973
65 De Pere 25,373 95 $78,733 $337,383 $979
66 Menomonie 16,563 95 $51,250 $273,762 $899
67 Milton 5,692 95 $78,957 $293,485 $890
68 Eau Claire 69,098 96 $63,882 $282,687 $929
69 Superior 26,562 96 $54,935 $198,624 $817
70 South Milwaukee 20,678 96 $68,801 $256,703 $979
71 Howard 20,022 96 $77,118 $340,552 $998
72 Bellevue 16,086 96 $76,152 $345,424 $1,039
73 Whitewater 15,725 96 $46,135 $295,965 $912
74 Lake Geneva 8,335 96 $62,883 $341,584 $1,090
75 Evansville 5,720 96 $83,431 $299,429 $799
76 Watertown 22,978 97 $67,189 $266,947 $1,045
77 Brown Deer 12,593 97 $88,164 $253,305 $991
78 Burlington 11,000 97 $80,529 $305,324 $939
79 Jefferson 7,778 97 $69,844 $285,758 $969
80 Edgerton 5,878 97 $80,255 $255,568 $1,056
81 Columbus 5,481 97 $65,727 $268,346 $819
82 Greenfield 37,521 98 $67,536 $291,988 $1,096
83 Hartford 15,667 98 $70,887 $324,957 $990
84 Fort Atkinson 12,522 98 $72,215 $256,174 $969
85 Twin Lakes 6,341 98 $88,770 $332,070 $1,063
86 River Falls 16,165 99 $72,247 $370,227 $1,004
87 Suamico 12,878 99 $111,320 $396,184 $1,188
88 Altoona 8,506 99 $77,002 $306,195 $980
89 Jackson 7,814 99 $94,621 $367,088 $1,151
90 Lake Hallie 7,178 99 $76,134 $308,070 $1,019
91 Slinger 6,055 99 $92,984 $404,668 $1,052
92 Waukesha 70,945 100 $77,558 $328,532 $1,115
93 Mount Pleasant 27,640 100 $83,827 $292,158 $1,023
94 Port Washington 12,446 100 $76,609 $322,974 $1,052
95 Waterford 5,587 100 $81,575 $383,978 $1,179
96 Caledonia 25,277 101 $90,346 $327,335 $982
97 Holmen 10,806 101 $77,880 $357,250 $1,093
98 Lake Mills 6,280 101 $77,449 $364,364 $1,082
99 Onalaska 18,837 102 $80,296 $315,396 $1,049
100 Grafton 12,160 102 $83,500 $377,473 $1,109
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.