Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 3.0Measured against area pay, Waukesha costs less to live in than 88% of U.S. towns
It ranks #5 of 362 in Wisconsin for affordability. Builders were permitted 15 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against Waukesha’s own median household income ($131K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across Waukesha earn ($131K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 3.2 years of area income, and 55% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
In paychecks the grade
- 3.2 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$131K, Waukesha income
- 12%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 14%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Waukesha
What’s behind Waukesha’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Waukesha is more affordable than 88% of U.S. towns, #5 of 362 in Wisconsin. Home prices pull the grade down most; rent holds it up.
A year’s rent takes 12% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Waukesha’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Waukesha home, with $96K to spare.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Waukesha’s typical property tax (0.89% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
Renters pay a median $1,292 a month
HUD doesn’t publish rents for this area.
Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
15 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 15 new homes in Waukesha in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $5.5 million to build. That's 1.8 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Wisconsin (4.3). Over the past 10 years, Waukesha has permitted 182 homes in all.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 9 | 9 | 0 | $3.3 million |
| 2025 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $4.2 million |
| 2023 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2022 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| 2021 | 28 | 28 | 0 | $11.5 million |
| 2020 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2019 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2018 | 25 | 19 | 6 | $7 million |
| 2017 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $7.3 million |
| 2016 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $6.2 million |
| 2015 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| 2014 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| 2013 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $5.4 million |
| 2012 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2011 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $778,000 |
| 2009 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2008 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2007 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $5.6 million |
| 2006 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2005 | 15 | 15 | 0 | $4.8 million |
| 2004 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $4.3 million |
| 2003 | 45 | 45 | 0 | $10.3 million |
| 2002 | 37 | 37 | 0 | $9.9 million |
| 2001 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $4.2 million |
| 2000 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $3.9 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Wisconsin norm
The median bill is $3,681 (Wisconsin: $3,792), 0.89% of a home’s value a year, against 1.42% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
Waukesha vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Waukesha. Mukwonago has no Zillow value, so it is in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukesha | A | — | $416K | 0.89% | — |
| Genesee | C | $619K | $438K | 0.97% | $1,490 |
| New Berlin | C− | $451K | $366K | 1.22% | $1,630 |
| Vernon | A− | $547K | $435K | 0.90% | — |
| Mukwonago | – | — | $447K | 0.91% | $1,340 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Waukesha
Is Waukesha expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Waukesha costs less than 88% of U.S. towns: an A for cost of living, #5 of 362 in Wisconsin. The typical home costs 3.2 years of Waukesha’s own median household income ($131K).
How much is rent in Waukesha?
Renters already here pay a median of $1,292 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Waukesha?
The median bill is $3,681 a year, 0.89% of the median home value (Wisconsin: $3,792, 1.42%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Waukesha buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.