Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Wheaton's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Wheaton?
Your $100,000 in Wheaton has the same purchasing power as $80,736 in the average US city. You'd need $19,264 more 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 Wheaton's cost index of 124, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Wheaton usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: a higher-income labor market than the national norm, among the safer us cities of its size, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Median household income in Wheaton is $101,229, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Wheaton reports roughly -24 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.
Wheaton's air quality index averages about 38 — 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.
Reasons are pulled from Wheaton'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.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 32°F, Wheaton sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Wheaton averages about 32°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Wheaton runs about 88°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Wheaton's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Wheaton sits at about 397 feet (121 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of Wheaton learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
By the numbers, yes. Wheaton reports roughly -24 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.
Yes, noticeably. Wheaton's cost-of-living index runs 124, about 24% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Somewhat. Wheaton earns a Walk Score of 53/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 59 out of 100.
Roughly $86,702 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 Wheaton runs about $2,039/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.