Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Milwaukee grades D overall, ranked 349th of 357 in Wisconsin, mostly because of safety and schools. It reports more crime per resident than 100% of U.S. towns, including 24 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. In its favor, natural-hazard risk is low. West Milwaukee’s property crime rate is 214.3 per 1,000 residents, against 6.3 in Wisconsin’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Only 8 of Wisconsin’s 879 towns score higher on walkability. The biggest place to walk is West Milwaukee Park, 22 acres with 1 miles of trail.
Where West Milwaukee beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where West Milwaukee’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far West Milwaukee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,458 in 1910, 4,114 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Milwaukee. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Stadium & arenaFiserv Forum
4 mi MuseumMilwaukee Art Museum350K visitors a year
3 mi Stadium & arenaUW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
3 mi MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum300K visitors a year
3 mi MuseumNature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin
2 mi GardenMitchell Park Horticultural ConservatoryFiserv Forum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Milwaukee Art Museum: Michael Hicks (Mulad), CC BY 2.0 · UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena: Shadowlink1014, Public domain · Harley-Davidson Museum: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 us · Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory: Sulfur (Talk / contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Milwaukee, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in West Milwaukee.
West Milwaukee draws workers from Milwaukee and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Wisconsin rate.
Violent crime runs at 6.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Wisconsin rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes rose from 613 to 874 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in West Milwaukee is 6.1 per 1,000 residents. West Milwaukee reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 100% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Milwaukee IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 378 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WI on state tests and graduation
1.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. West Milwaukee’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| West Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Milwaukee Park | 1 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4,822 jobs are based in West Milwaukee, 2.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave West Milwaukee for work: only 3% work in town. 20% of West Milwaukee residents live below the poverty line. Only 7 of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare have a lower median household income than West Milwaukee.
| West Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 6.3% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $88,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Of the 362 Wisconsin towns we compare, none has a lower FEMA risk score than West Milwaukee. One flood insurance claim has been paid in West Milwaukee since 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical West Milwaukee home is worth about $252,000, up 4.1% in a year, 25% below the Wisconsin typical home. 34% of households own their home in West Milwaukee.
| West Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 34% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $920 a month | $1,080 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Mt Mary College weather station, 5 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 80% of Wisconsin places with climate records. January nights average 14.8°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 99% of Wisconsin places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.5°.
West Milwaukee has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| West Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 15°F | 11°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 5,454 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Milwaukee’s, it is healthier than 77%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
West Milwaukee beats the Wisconsin average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. Among 357 Wisconsin towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than West Milwaukee.
| West Milwaukee | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 7.1% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 10% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | West Milwaukee | WI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.8% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.6% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
16 within 15 miles of the center of West Milwaukee
About 5 of every 100 West Milwaukee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Wisconsin.
Village in Wisconsin, United States
West Milwaukee is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located in the center of the county, approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of American Family Field. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with West Milwaukee.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Milwaukee | #349 | D | C+ | D− | D | C+ |
| Milwaukee | #357 | D− | C+ | D− | D− | D |
| West Allis | #308 | C+ | B− | C | D | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Milwaukee grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #349 of 357 in Wisconsin. It grades C+ for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.2 years of the area's median household income ($78,218 across the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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