More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Milwaukee to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Milwaukee are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Milwaukee ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Milwaukee area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Milwaukee proper, although Fox Point certainly tries.
We examined the 56 biggest suburbs of Milwaukee to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Wisconsin lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Milwaukee in terms of quality of life.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 worst suburbs around Milwaukee for 2024
- Racine
- West Milwaukee
- Sturtevant
- West Allis
- Hartford
- South Milwaukee
- Mount Pleasant
- West Bend
- Greenfield
- Fredonia
Now don’t freak out.
What’s the worst suburb of Milwaukee? Racine ranks as the worst suburb of Milwaukee for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Wisconsin check out the best places in Wisconsin overall or the worst.
And remember, there are some good places to live around Milwaukee too.
The 10 Worst Milwaukee Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 77,453
Median Income: $52,766 (3rd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (2nd highest)
Median Home Value: $174,516 (lowest)
More on Racine: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
We’ll get the ball rolling with Racine, the absolute worst place to live around Milwaukee according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Racine beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 3rd worst in the Milwaukee area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Racine.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
2. West Milwaukee
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Population: 4,096
Median Income: $46,220 (lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (5th highest)
Median Home Value: $218,801 (2nd lowest)
More on West Milwaukee: Crime
Welcome to West Milwaukee. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 3.5 miles to Milwaukee. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $46,220 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
/10
Population: 6,823
Median Income: $83,816 (2lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% (highest)
Median Home Value: $245,292 (4th lowest)
More on Sturtevant: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Milwaukee suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Sturtevant on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Milwaukee suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
/10
Population: 59,907
Median Income: $64,888 (6th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (11th highest)
Median Home Value: $236,211 (3rd lowest)
More on West Allis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you live in West Allis, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 6th lowest Milwaukee suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 11th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Milwaukee. Remember, we looked at 56 cities for this study.
West Allis is about 5.0 miles to downtown.
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Population: 15,667
Median Income: $70,887 (11th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.2% (2highest)
Median Home Value: $324,957 (15th lowest)
More on Hartford: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Hartford has the distinction of being a Milwaukee suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Hartford has the 15th lowest home values in the metro Milwaukee area, where the median price is $324,957. The median income is $159,577.
Hartford has an unemployment rate of 3.19% which ranks 2worst.
/10
Population: 20,678
Median Income: $68,801 (10th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (17th highest)
Median Home Value: $256,703 (8th lowest)
More on South Milwaukee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
South Milwaukee has 20,678 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 13.49987754102376%.
/10
Population: 27,640
Median Income: $83,827 (22nd lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (25th highest)
Median Home Value: $292,158 (11th lowest)
More on Mount Pleasant: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Ah, Mount Pleasant. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Milwaukee.
It’s the place with the 25th most out of work residents in the Milwaukee metro area (3.01%).
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Population: 31,682
Median Income: $71,904 (12th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (16th highest)
Median Home Value: $300,826 (12th lowest)
More on West Bend: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
West Bend is a city about 26.8 miles from Milwaukee, but Milwaukee probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb for 2018.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. West Bend has the 8th most uninsured people, 12th worst incomes, and has the 16th highest unemployment rate (3.53%) in the entire Milwaukee metro area.
Homes only cost $300,826 for a reason. That’s cheap for Milwaukee standards.
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Population: 37,521
Median Income: $67,536 (9th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (19th highest)
Median Home Value: $291,988 (10th lowest)
More on Greenfield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
If you absolutely have to live near Milwaukee, then Greenfield might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Milwaukee suburb.
About 3.46% of residents are out of work.
10. Fredonia
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Population: 2,446
Median Income: $86,518 (27th lowest)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (10th highest)
Median Home Value: $342,677 (19th lowest)
More on Fredonia:
Rounding out the ten worst Milwaukee suburbs to call home is Fredonia.
Located 28.2 miles outside the city, Fredonias is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 10th highest unemployment rate (4.01%), and poverty is far above the area average.
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Milwaukee for 2024
To figure out how bad a Milwaukee suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2018-2022, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Milwaukee.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 56 suburbs to evaluate around Milwaukee.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 56 in each category, where 1 was the “worst.”
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Milwaukee.” We’re looking at you, Racine.
We updated this article for 2024, which reflects our tenth time ranking the worst suburbs around Milwaukee.
Summary: The areas around Milwaukee where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2024
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Milwaukee with Racine casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Milwaukee are .
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Milwaukee aren’t all bad. Fox Point takes the cake as the best place to live around Milwaukee.
- Fox Point
- Elm Grove
- Summit
For more Wisconsin reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Wisconsin
- Cheapest Places To Live In Wisconsin
- Most Dangerous Cities In Wisconsin
- Best Places To Retire In Wisconsin
- Richest Cities In Wisconsin
- Safest Places In Wisconsin
- Worst Places To Live In Wisconsin
Detailed List Of The Worst Milwaukee Suburbs
Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Racine | 77,453 | $52,766 | $174,516 |
2 | West Milwaukee | 4,096 | $46,220 | $218,801 |
3 | Sturtevant | 6,823 | $83,816 | $245,292 |
4 | West Allis | 59,907 | $64,888 | $236,211 |
5 | Hartford | 15,667 | $70,887 | $324,957 |
6 | South Milwaukee | 20,678 | $68,801 | $256,703 |
7 | Mount Pleasant | 27,640 | $83,827 | $292,158 |
8 | West Bend | 31,682 | $71,904 | $300,826 |
9 | Greenfield | 37,521 | $67,536 | $291,988 |
10 | Fredonia | 2,446 | $86,518 | $342,677 |
11 | Caledonia | 25,277 | $90,346 | $327,335 |
12 | Waukesha | 70,945 | $77,558 | $328,532 |
13 | Cudahy | 18,087 | $66,592 | $248,599 |
14 | Brown Deer | 12,593 | $88,164 | $253,305 |
15 | Glendale | 13,227 | $79,861 | $312,896 |
16 | St. Francis | 9,288 | $51,749 | $250,548 |
17 | Saukville | 4,274 | $65,294 | $335,245 |
18 | Hartland | 9,599 | $82,238 | $421,737 |
19 | Franklin | 36,513 | $100,524 | $380,895 |
20 | Dousman | 2,099 | $85,909 | $410,876 |
21 | Slinger | 6,055 | $92,984 | $404,668 |
22 | Oak Creek | 36,286 | $86,408 | $356,263 |
23 | Union Grove | 4,916 | $103,005 | $281,006 |
24 | Pewaukee | 8,227 | $60,202 | $459,571 |
25 | Pewaukee | 8,227 | $60,202 | $459,571 |
26 | Mukwonago | 8,311 | $91,827 | $423,592 |
27 | Port Washington | 12,446 | $76,609 | $322,974 |
28 | East Troy | 4,669 | $79,504 | $403,061 |
29 | Hales Corners | 7,677 | $84,911 | $351,737 |
30 | Oconomowoc | 18,178 | $99,104 | $435,095 |
31 | Jackson | 7,814 | $94,621 | $367,088 |
32 | Greendale | 14,722 | $89,684 | $342,979 |
33 | Menomonee Falls | 38,610 | $96,986 | $367,403 |
34 | New Berlin | 40,387 | $94,769 | $388,822 |
35 | Waterford | 5,587 | $81,575 | $383,978 |
36 | Rochester | 3,776 | $91,000 | $369,973 |
37 | Eagle | 2,050 | $110,500 | $449,848 |
38 | Muskego | 25,073 | $112,537 | $444,024 |
39 | Shorewood | 13,707 | $87,161 | $467,870 |
40 | Sussex | 11,549 | $105,435 | $437,059 |
41 | Thiensville | 3,279 | $85,542 | $368,575 |
42 | Wales | 2,880 | $114,286 | $468,496 |
43 | Bayside | 4,506 | $129,348 | $488,586 |
44 | Grafton | 12,160 | $83,500 | $377,473 |
45 | Wauwatosa | 47,919 | $93,812 | $362,434 |
46 | Cedarburg | 12,213 | $79,610 | $475,448 |
47 | Brookfield | 41,342 | $121,837 | $450,774 |
48 | Merton | 3,463 | $159,577 | $623,419 |
49 | Delafield | 7,181 | $99,239 | $638,617 |
50 | Mequon | 25,102 | $141,996 | $572,570 |
51 | North Prairie | 2,485 | $143,068 | $422,869 |
52 | Richfield | 11,757 | $128,165 | $493,223 |
53 | Whitefish Bay | 14,804 | $142,356 | $553,113 |
54 | Summit | 4,914 | $125,298 | $656,576 |
55 | Elm Grove | 6,445 | $126,996 | $580,004 |
56 | Fox Point | 6,811 | $130,865 | $481,451 |