Racine, WI
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Racine ranks 144th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 136th for income. A household earns $77,830 a year while median rent runs $1,202/mo, making it moderately affordable for what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 4% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is hazard safety (24th of 300), while job market is the soft spot (225th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 134th and home prices 107th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Racine, your take-home is worth about $60,914 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 136th of 300↑28.1%$77,830
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 166th of 30096 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $81,106
- Per-capita income
- $40,815
- Full-time pay
- $47,275
Housing
- Median rent
- 134th of 300↑44.3%$1,202/mo
- Home value
- 107th of 300↑32.8%$266,700
- Property tax
- $3,908/yr · 1.5%
- Sales tax
- 5.70%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 225th of 3005.2%
- Bachelor's+
- 216th of 30028.5%
- Avg commute
- 209th of 30025.9 min
People
- Population
- 198,651
- Population change
- +1.2%
- Median age
- 41.2 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 5%
- Broadband
- 94.5%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 97th of 30042
- Natural-hazard loss
- 24th of 300$8/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 136th of 30018.1%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 10.1%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Air quality
- + Hazard safety
Watch-outs
- – Job market
- – Education
- – Commute
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — racine batten ap.
What jobs pay in Racine
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $329,280
- Pharmacists
- $144,090
- IT managers
- $139,360
- Financial managers
- $134,250
- Lawyers
- $106,900
- General & operations managers
- $106,740
- Software developers
- $101,220
- Civil engineers
- $94,390
- Registered nurses
- $89,090
- Electricians
- $82,510
- Police officers
- $77,840
- Accountants & auditors
- $77,520
- Plumbers
- $77,070
- Secondary school teachers
- $61,460
- Carpenters
- $60,920
- Elementary school teachers
- $60,840
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $59,790
- Construction laborers
- $54,300
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $54,030
- Customer service reps
- $46,790
- Janitors
- $36,480
- Retail salespersons
- $30,970
- Waiters & waitresses
- $30,020
- Cashiers
- $29,970
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Racine metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in Wisconsin are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- Illinois640
- Minnesota227
- Texas221
- North Dakota185
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Racine
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Racine metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Racine metro?
- Median gross rent across the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area is $1,202 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Racine.
- What is the median household income in the Racine metro?
- A typical household in the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area earns $77,830 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Racine expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area runs about 4% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Racine metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $81,106 (versus its face value of $77,830). CityLedger rates the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area moderately affordable for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Racine metro?
- The median home value across the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area is $266,700 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Racine metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area is 5.2% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).