Milwaukee vs. Lincoln Cost of Living Summary

Milwaukee is 26.5% more expensive than Lincoln.

Restaurants
pay 22.6% more in Milwaukee
Groceries
pay 10.7% less in Milwaukee
Transportation
pay 20.5% more in Milwaukee
Housing
pay 35.4% more in Milwaukee
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in Milwaukee
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.5% more in Milwaukee
Clothing
pay 3.4% less in Milwaukee

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Milwaukee are more expensive than in Lincoln. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Milwaukee. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee vs. Lincoln Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Milwaukee instead of Lincoln, you would:

pay 22.6% more for restaurants

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.00
 
$18.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$10.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.16
 
$3.12
 

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pay 10.7% less for groceries

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Bread
1 loaf
$3.37
 
$3.84
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.97
 
$4.79
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.13
 
$3.04
 

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pay 20.5% more for transportation

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.97
 
$3.01
 
Monthly public transit pass $35.00
 
$72.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,681.78
 
$35,524.95
 

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pay 35.4% more for housing

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.67
 
$69.43
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,050.00
 
$1,578.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $840.00
 
$1,210.60
 

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $825.00
 
$1,821.67
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $24,200.00
 

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pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$5.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.37
 
$5.09
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.00
 
$10.50
 

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pay 3.4% less for clothing

 
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$49.00
 
$43.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$35.00
 
$45.50
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.80
 
$80.00
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026
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