Kenosha vs Racine
Metro-area medians — Kenosha, WI Metro Area vs Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Kenosha comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Racine is about 5% cheaper to live in, while Kenosha households earn about 7% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches about as far in either.
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, Racine leaves you about $3,107/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 Kenosha for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
Choose Racine for
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Median rent
- + Median home value
Kenosha vs Racine — frequently asked
- Is Kenosha cheaper than Racine?
- Racine is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 5% below Kenosha's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Kenosha or Racine?
- Kenosha has the higher median household income — $83,529 versus $77,830 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 7% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Kenosha or Racine?
- It is roughly a wash. After adjusting income for local prices, a typical paycheck is worth about the same in both metros ($82,605 versus $81,106).
- Which has cheaper rent, Kenosha or Racine?
- Racine has cheaper rent — a median of $1,202/mo versus $1,289/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).