Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Kenosha's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Kenosha?
Your $100,000 in Kenosha has the same purchasing power as $102,554 in the average US city. You'd need $2,554 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Kenosha's cost index of 98, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Kenosha usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: where the city quietly wins: housing costs, among the safer us cities of its size, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Even if other categories track the national average in Kenosha, housing comes in noticeably cheaper. Median rent is about $1,079/mo, and the housing sub-index lands at 95 (US avg = 100). That's where most of the day-to-day affordability difference shows up for newcomers.
Kenosha reports roughly 1,509 crime incidents per 100,000 residents, well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. As always, citywide numbers paper over real differences between neighborhoods — but the broader trend here is on the calmer end of the US distribution.
Kenosha's air quality index averages about 39 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Kenosha is about 24 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Kenosha's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Kenosha does winter the real way. Averages around 20°F keep snow on the ground for weeks at a time, and lakes and rivers tend to freeze hard enough to walk on.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Kenosha averages roughly 20°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Pleasantly warm. Kenosha's summer averages around 80°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Zone 7, give or take a half-zone. Kenosha's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 7 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Kenosha is at about 725 feet (221 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
By the numbers, yes. Kenosha reports roughly 1,509 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. The big caveat applies as always: every city has neighborhoods that look nothing like the citywide average. But the citywide average here is genuinely good.
Roughly average. Kenosha's cost-of-living index is 98, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Mostly car-dependent. Kenosha's Walk Score of 28/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest.
Roughly $68,257 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Kenosha runs about $1,079/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.