Appleton vs Peoria
Metro-area medians — Appleton, WI Metro Area vs Peoria, IL Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Appleton comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Appleton and Peoria cost about the same to live in, but Appleton households earn about 11% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Appleton.
Their widest everyday difference: Appleton has the tighter job market — 2.1% unemployment versus 3.7%.
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, Appleton leaves you about $111/yr better off after tax and local prices.
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.
Choose Appleton for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Average commute
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Appleton and Peoria on cost, income, size, and education.
Appleton vs Peoria — frequently asked
- Is Appleton cheaper than Peoria?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Appleton and Peoria metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Appleton or Peoria?
- Appleton has the higher median household income — $82,501 versus $74,352 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 11% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Appleton or Peoria?
- A paycheck stretches further in Appleton. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $89,268 there versus $81,499 in Peoria.
- Which has cheaper rent, Appleton or Peoria?
- Peoria has cheaper rent — a median of $1,003/mo versus $1,164/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).